Police seek answers from separate Columbia shootings that injured teens, killed man
BALTIMORE -- A 26-year-man was reported missing days before he was found shot to death inside a parked vehicle behind an office building in Columbia early Saturday, according to Howard County Police.
Kendrick McLellan was one of three people who were shot on the same block near the Columbia Palace Shopping Center. McLellan was reported missing from Baltimore on Thursday before he was found dead around 2:15 a.m. on Saturday in the 8800 block of Centre Park Drive.
"Basically, we're at a point where we need information," said Seth Hoffman, a spokesperson for the Howard County Police. "We don't know when he was shot. There were no reports of gunfire in the area so we're looking at a wide range of possibilities for when this may have occurred."
Shortly after 9 p.m. on Saturday, two teenagers -- ages 16 and 17 -- were shot in the parking lot of nearby Giant Food. According to the dispatch call, the shooting happened between the Bank of America and the Giant at the Columbia Palace Shopping Center.
"We don't have a ton to go on," Hoffman said. "We believe that there was only one shooter and we believe that it was probably targeted, so it wasn't a random shooting."
The shootings happened near the Long Reach Village in Columbia and down the street from Howard High School.
"Crime doesn't know any borders," Hoffman said. "It doesn't know any areas, and as unfortunate as it, even in the safest area, it's not immune to crime."
A $5,000 reward is being offered for information into the shooting of McLellan, while a $3,000 reward is offered for information in the shooting of the two teens.
Anyone with information on the shootings should call police at 410-313-STOP or HCPDCrimeTips@howardcountymd.gov.