Columbia teen charged with first-degree murder in mall shooting

A 17-year-old has been charged with first-degree murder in the fatal shooting of another teenager in July at The Mall in Columbia, Howard County police said Tuesday.

Police said in a news release that the department is working with the U.S. Marshals Service to search for the teen, who was charged as an adult in Maryland District Court in Howard County.

Authorities believe a 17-year-old male victim was attacked on July 27, a weekend day when the mall was packed with shoppers. He was shot once. The shooting led to chaos and a lockdown of the mall.

The Baltimore Banner is not identifying the teen as it awaits a decision on whether the matter should be decided in the juvenile justice system, which would result in the case and his identity being kept secret permanently.

In Maryland, children 14 years old or older are automatically charged as adults for certain crimes, such as first-degree murder, which are punishable by life in prison. If a judge sends the case to the juvenile justice system, the court would have jurisdiction over the accused person until they turn 21.

Police said mall surveillance video showed the wanted teen sitting at a table in the food court with his head bowed until the victim, 17-year-old Angelo Little, walked toward the bathroom hallway.

“The shooter gets up from the table and follows Little,” Howard County police said in August. “He waits for Little to exit the bathroom, then fires a fatal shot from behind and runs out a back door.”

Little was pronounced dead at the scene near the food court. Police found him with a gun and investigators said Little was injured at a shoot in April 2023.

Little was a student at Homewood Center in Ellicott City, Principal Dwayne Williams said in an email to the school community after the fatal shooting.

In the publicly available video, the wanted teenager is seen wearing a dark mask covering his face, a black hoodie with a hood over his head, black Adidas sweatpants and black shoes. A witness described him as a young black man in his teens or 20s, short in stature. The footage shows the suspect running through the utility hallway at the mall.

Authorities are asking the public for help in finding the teenager. The U.S. Marshals Service is offering a reward of up to $20,000 for information leading to the arrest of the suspect. Howard County police had already offered a $10,000 reward.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the US Marshals Service at 1-877-WANTED2 or submit tips via the USMS Tips app.