The Mall in Columbia shoppers, workers describe "shocking" deadly food court shooting

BALTIMORE - Shoppers and workers say they were terrified when chaos broke out inside The Mall in Columbia where a 17-year-old was killed in a shooting Saturday evening.

Police said Angelo Little, from Columbia, was killed during an altercation around 6 p.m. at the mall's food court.

Little was a student at the Homewood Center in Ellicott City. 

Brookfield Properties, the company that manages The Mall in Columbia, released this statement:

"We are extremely upset that these individuals chose our center for a targeted act of violence. We pride ourselves on being a safe haven for the community to shop, dine and be entertained. Our center maintains a comprehensive and robust security program this is constantly being evaluated to meet the needs of our shoppers. We want to thank our security team and the Howard County Police Department for their swift response."

Authorities are offering a reward of up to $5,000 for information that leads to an arrest. 

Anyone with information on the shooting should call police at 410-313-7867. 

"That's a gunshot"

Kirby Johnson told WJZ he was in the bathroom near the food court when he heard a loud bang.

"As I was going out of the bathroom, I was like, 'nah…that's a gunshot,'" Johnson said.

Johnson said he walked out of the bathroom, turned a corner and saw the teenager on the ground with a gunshot wound.

"The gentleman was on the floor, he was bleeding from his head and he wasn't moving," Johnson said.

Nikolas DeSousa said he was at the mall shopping midday on Saturday hours before the shooting.

"I actually went to the mall yesterday with my girlfriend at 12 o'clock and [it's] just kind of sad to see that we're having a shooting in this area. It's a very diverse very nice community but it's just super sad to have this going on," DeSousa said.

Sheltering in place

Johnson said he ran to get help and Howard County Police soon responded. Hundreds of people in the mall sheltered in place while police secured the area.

Police said there were no indications of an active shooter. No arrests have been made.   

"I was really scared because I've never experienced anything like this," said Neveah, a mall employee.

Avram, another mall employee, said he sprung into action after hearing and seeing the commotion.

"I heard everybody screaming and running down the food court," Avram said. "That's when I started to get everyone in our store towards the back."

Following policy, the mall employees barricaded the doors at their respective stores and sheltered in the back with customers.

"There were kids in our store. One mom was actually separated from her kids in our store so I was more concerned about them getting together and being safe," Avram said.

Outside the mall, people waited for their loved ones who sheltered in place for nearly two hours.

"The fact that one person died is really shocking to hear," said Columbia resident Nathan Siegel. "Gun violence is a major problem in society. It's somehow not shocking at the same time."

Having second thoughts about the mall

Columbia residents told WJZ that the recent violence makes them think twice about going back to the mall.

"I still feel safe," said Columbia resident Nikolas Desousa. "Howard County has a reputation of really good people, but at the same time though, it's like you see this moment, and maybe, I should take a step back and not go."

"Everyone's continuing to exist like nothing's happened, but I can only imagine a day ago there was probably crime scene tape and blood," Siegel added. "I don't know, but it's insane to think about that."