Police have vague suspect description in teen's fatal shooting at Columbia mall
Organizations vow to support programs to curb youth violence
Organizations vow to support programs to curb youth violence
Organizations vow to support programs to curb youth violence
Howard County police have yet to identify a suspect in Saturday's fatal shooting of a teenager at The Mall in Columbia, but they have a vague description.
Angelo Little, 17, who died in the shooting, was a student at the Homewood School in Ellicott City. He was also a mentee of the organization Stepping Towards a New Destiny (STAND).
"When things like this happen, you try your best not to be shaken by it, but say, 'What steps can we do to prevent situations like this from happening?'" said Tigana Duncan, STAND's executive director. "It's very much unfortunate. One of the things you do is we always think about the parent, that there's always parents involved in these situations."
Police are still trying to figure out exactly what led up to the shooting, but said it was not random. The assailant fired one shot before running out of the mall.
"At this point, we're really looking for one shooter. We believe there's one person responsible," Howard County police spokeswoman Sherry Llewellyn said. "He's been described as someone wearing all-dark clothing, hooded sweatshirt, face partially covered, probably in his teens or 20s."
Police interviewed witnesses at the mall on Saturday night and are searching surveillance video for clues. Investigators also seek the public's help.
"There's really no way to know whether there was a history of a relationship between these two people or if they had recently come across each other in the mall. Those are the pieces of information we're hoping the public can help us determine," Llewellyn said.
Video below: Police identify teen as victim in Columbia mall shooting
The program Persevere Until Success Happens (PUSH), which works alongside STAND in Howard County, visits middle and high schools to give youths opportunities and guidance.
"I think the No. 1 goal, above all, for all of our programs, is to never have violence as an option," said Saquan Maxwell, the executive program director at PUSH.
Little's killing will not change the organizations' work, but rather give them motivation to stay the course.
"We'll just continue our teaching methods and our intervention strategies that when there are situations they're facing, how do you handle some of these things?" Duncan said. "We cannot wait until situations like this happen, and then everyone scrambles for answers. So, again, one of the approaches we take is to be involved as much as possible — not just in the schools, but actually get into the communities."
Police are offering a reward of up to $5,000. Anyone with information is asked to call police at 410-313-STOP or email [email protected]. You may remain anonymous.
Video below: 1 dead in shooting at The Mall in Columbia