Darion Aguilar, 19, of College Park, Md., near Washington, D.C., shot and killed two employees of a clothing store and then himself at the mall of Columbia–between Washington and Baltimore, on Saturday, the Washington Post reports. One victim, Brianna Benlolo, 21, also lived in College Park, but there was not an immediate connection between Aguilar and the victims, said Howard County Police Chief William McMahon. Friends and neighbors reported having seen no signs that Aguilar would commit an act of violence.
McMahon said six to eight shots were fired, killing Benlolo and a fellow store worker, Tyler Johnson, 25. Aguilar's weapon was a Mossberg 12-gauge shotgun, which he bought in December. Police found the gun next to Aguilar's body, which was laden with ammunition. In addition, his backpack, found in the store, contained two crude devices that seemed to be an attempt to use fireworks to make explosives. At the suburban mall, a quiet Saturday turned to terror as the blasts jolted shoppers and employees, who hit the floor and scrambled into stores.