A man is dead after a shooting outside The Mall in Columbia in Howard County, Maryland, on Friday night.
Just after 10:20 p.m., police officers responded to the mall’s parking lot for a report of a shooting and found Anthony Patterson, 20, of Owings Mills, shot and killed.
No other injuries were reported as a result of the shooting.
Howard County police said they believe Patterson and the “unknown shooter” exchanged words before the fatal shooting.
Police said officers spoke witnesses in the Main Event entertainment venue in the mall, who recalled hearing “multiple gunshots.” Officers said “there are no indications” Patterson knew the suspect before the shooting.
Police said there was “no ongoing threat” to members of the public and believe the suspect “quickly fled the scene.”
Columbia was recently rated the safest city in the United States for the third year in a row by the financial website WalletHub.
Overall the suburb has retained low levels of violent crime when compared with the rest of the nation.
Eight homicides were reported in the Howard County in 2019, a slight increase from previous years.
Police ask anyone with information to contact them at 410-313-STOP or via email at HCPDcrimetips@howardcountymd.gov. Detectives said they are offering a reward of up to $5,000 for information in the case.
A map of the area is below.
