The Columbia Mall near Baltimore, Maryland on Saturday was locked down after a gunman killed three people. The suspected shooter was found dead on the scene of a gunshot wound.
“Three people confirmed dead at Columbia Mall. Victims unknown at this time,” Howard County Police said via Twitter. “Call came into 911 around 11:15 a.m. that shots were fired. Police made entry and found three dead, one found near a gun and ammunition.”
Images uploaded to Twitter show a large police presence outside the facility.
The police department tweeted there’s “one deceased subject located near gun and ammunition. ID unknown.”
“No indication of additional shots fired. Scene believed to be secure,” reads a later tweet. “Police are in mall to clear people out safely. Mall is believed to be secure, but people inside should wait for police.”
People are reportedly sheltering in place inside the mall.
“My wife is currently hiding in a storage closet in the #ColumbiaMall. She heard 8 shots. Stay away for a bit. #scary,” wrote Ryan B. Harvey on Twitter.
AP update:
COLUMBIA, Md. (AP) — Police in Maryland say three people died Saturday in a shooting at a mall in suburban Baltimore, including the presumed gunman.
Howard County police said via Twitter that a shooting had taken place at the Mall in Columbia, a suburb of both Baltimore and Washington.
Authorities received a call to 911 at around 11:15 a.m. to report that shots had been fired. Police responded to the scene and found three people dead, including one person who was found near gun and ammunition.
Police said they believed that one of people who was found dead was the shooter. There was no other information available about the two other people.
The scene was “believed to be secure” police said in a tweet issued at about 12:36 p.m.
The mall is at the center of the town, a suburb of both Baltimore and Washington.
The mall typically opens at 10 a.m. on Saturdays and it was not known how many shoppers or workers might have been present at the time of the shooting.
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