# Yet another mall shooting **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 25, 2014, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-mall-shooting/679702 "2014-01-25T18:35:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2014, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-mall-shooting/679702/1 "2014-01-25T18:35:27Z")
Columbia Mall, in Columbia, Maryland. [Three dead](http://www.cnn.com/2014/01/25/us/maryland-mall-shooting/). Huh. I used to live just a few blocks from there; went there all the time. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2014, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-mall-shooting/679702/2 "2014-01-25T18:37:45Z")
They’re reporting one of the dead had a gun and ammunition, but I’ve not seen any reports about the police shooting anyone, which leads me to believe this was some sort of private dispute, but really that’s just wild speculation on my part. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2014, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-mall-shooting/679702/3 "2014-01-25T18:41:08Z")
Or suicide. I grew up in Columbia; all family are accounted for but not sure about friends. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2014, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-mall-shooting/679702/4 "2014-01-25T18:44:31Z")
I’m thinking that it was some kind of targeted attack too. I also believe that CNN, etc. should refrain from routinely doing stories about things like this, because of the risk of copycats. ---
**Author:** ![computergeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e56c9b/32.png) [@computergeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/computergeek)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2014, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-mall-shooting/679702/5 "2014-01-25T19:33:49Z")
That mall isn’t too far from me so it feels scarier than usual. My parents actually called me this morning from another state because they were worried. I hadn’t seen news of the shooting before then. ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2014, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-mall-shooting/679702/6 "2014-01-25T19:38:57Z")
Um…hmmm. Editing at CNN is not good. From the link: _Howard County Police Chief Bill McMahon told reporters that the shooter apparently shot two people before shitting himself in a store on the second floor. The motive was unclear._ ETA: They’ve corrected the error already. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2014, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-mall-shooting/679702/7 "2014-01-25T19:46:46Z")
The families of the victims can console themselves with the knowledge that their loved ones died for our Second Amendment rights. :sad: ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2014, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-mall-shooting/679702/8 "2014-01-25T20:25:50Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > The families of the victims can console themselves with the knowledge that their loved ones died for our Second Amendment rights. :sad: Nice. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2014, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-mall-shooting/679702/9 "2014-01-25T21:25:54Z")
> [@Crafter\_Man](#): > > Nice. :rolleyes: I look forward to the day when it is no longer true. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2014, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-mall-shooting/679702/10 "2014-01-26T00:11:43Z")
It appears to be domestic - that the shooter killed his estranged wife and her boyfriend before turning the gun on himself. WHY, OH WHY didn’t he kill himself first??? :mad: ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2014, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-mall-shooting/679702/11 "2014-01-26T00:13:39Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > It appears to be domestic - that the shooter killed his estranged wife and her boyfriend before turning the gun on himself. > > WHY, OH WHY didn’t he kill himself first??? :mad: Because he was an asshole. Which explains the estranged wife. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2014, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-mall-shooting/679702/12 "2014-01-26T00:22:42Z")
> [@Oakminster](#): > > Um…hmmm. Editing at CNN is not good. From the link: > > _Howard County Police Chief Bill McMahon told reporters that the shooter apparently shot two people before shitting himself in a store on the second floor. The motive was unclear._ > > ETA: They’ve corrected the error already. The first version was probably just as correct. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2014, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-mall-shooting/679702/13 "2014-01-26T04:26:39Z")
Can you put me onto a source? HoCoPo isn’t releasing that information that I can see, though there’s some speculation on a Columbia Facebook page. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2014, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-mall-shooting/679702/14 "2014-01-26T04:55:14Z")
Sorry for the double post. The Washington Post says > [@](#): > > Fischer said that Johnson did not socialize much with his slain co-worker, Benlolo, with whom he had worked at Zumiez since late last year. (It doesn’t say who Fischer is in relation to Johnson, one of the two victims.) ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2014, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-mall-shooting/679702/15 "2014-01-26T16:20:41Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > I’m thinking that it was some kind of targeted attack too. I also believe that CNN, etc. should refrain from routinely doing stories about things like this, because of the risk of copycats. Right, because an uninformed populace is a happy populace. ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2014, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-mall-shooting/679702/16 "2014-01-26T17:14:34Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > Right, because an uninformed populace is a happy populace. Yeah, and hey, who really needs to know if their local mall is currently a war zone? ---
**Author:** ![Hal\_Briston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9a28c/32.png) [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2014, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-mall-shooting/679702/17 "2014-01-26T18:15:19Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > It appears to be domestic - that the shooter killed his estranged wife and her boyfriend before turning the gun on himself. > > WHY, OH WHY didn’t he kill himself first??? :mad: That’s always my thought in situations like this. Any asshole can pull off a murder/suicide…how about you ramp up the difficulty and go for a suicide/murder? ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2014, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-mall-shooting/679702/18 "2014-01-26T18:33:06Z")
> [@](#): > > “We have not been able to verify any type of relationship between him and our victims,” Howard County Police Chief Bill McMahon said, adding that police are still actively looking for connections and a motive. Aguilar lived near victim, Benlolo, but McMahon didn’t know if they knew each other. > [@](#): > > McMahon said police have seen nothing in Aguilar’s background that hinted at violence. According to Maryland electronic court records, he did not have a criminal record. [http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/howard/columbia/bs-md-columbia-mall-shooting-20140125,0,967893.story#ixzz2rWyYs8aD](http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/howard/columbia/bs-md-columbia-mall-shooting-20140125,0,967893.story#ixzz2rWyYs8aD) ---
**Author:** ![computergeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e56c9b/32.png) [@computergeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/computergeek)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2014, 11:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-mall-shooting/679702/19 "2014-01-27T11:05:27Z")
This is a puzzling case at the moment. Police have found no connection between the shooter and the victims so far. Given that the guy shot the two young people and then himself leads one to believe it could have been a murder-suicide due to some kind of domestic issue between the killer and one or both victims, but the police haven’t found a connection yet (at least they aren’t saying publicly at this time). The families of the victims are apparently upset that the media is saying there was a relationship and the police have asked that the speculation stop. ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2014, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-mall-shooting/679702/20 "2014-01-27T22:16:02Z")
An element of dark humor – the shooter was on the board of “the Serenity Center,” according to CNN. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-mall-shooting/679702.md?page=2)