T H E G AZ ET T E
Thursday, January 30, 2014 lr
Police: College Park man responsible for shooting 19-year-old reported missing more than two hours after mall shooting n
BY CHASE COOK AND EMILIE EASTMAN STAFF WRITERS
Police say a missing College Park man was the gunman in Saturday’s shooting at The Mall in Columbia. Darion Marcus Aguilar, 19, of the 4700 block of Hollywood Road in College Park, was initially reported missing to Prince George’s County police at about 1:40 p.m. on Saturday, said Lt. William Alexander, a Prince George’s County police spokesman. Howard County Police reported that Aguilar opened fire at about 11:15 a.m. in the mall’s Zumiez store, killing Brianna Benlolo, 21, of College Park and Tyler Johnson, 25, of Mount Airy, said Sherry Llewellyn, Howard County Police spokeswoman. County police believe Aguilar killed himself after the shooting, Llewellyn said. Aguilar’s mother believed her son had gone missing sometime after he was scheduled to work at 5:30 a.m. Saturday, Alexander said. Aguilar worked at the College Park Dunkin’
PLAN
Continued from Page A-1 tive threat as quickly as possible while removing civilians from threat area, Alexander said. The need for such plans was reinforced Saturday when Darion Aguilar, 19, of College Park, allegedly walked into Zumiez, a store at The Mall in Columbia, armed with a 12-gauge shotgun, Howard County police said. Aguilar allegedly killed Brianna Benlolo, 21, of College Park and Tyler Johnson of Mount Airy before he turned the weapon on himself, Howard County police said. Reeves said Beltway Plaza did increase its security over the weekend in response to the attack, but he said he is confident in the mall’s current evacuation and active shooter plans. There aren’t really any adjustments to be made at this time, but security trains each year and modifies training if standard practices change, he said. “Our evacuation plan covers different scenarios [such as] a person acting suspicious,” Reeves said. “We have a proce-
BUDGET
Continued from Page A-1 on the horizon,” Baker said. “Tanger [outlet mall] is here, we can see MGM coming to National Harbor, Westphalia, the hospital in Largo. We have great projects that are going to increase our revenues.” Baker said his administration’s priorities are public safety, education and health, but added, “We want to hear from residents what they feel the county’s priorities should be, and what ideas they have for helping us.” Chloe Jackson of Fort Washington asked officials to expand homeless services. “I see so many homeless individuals in our neighborhood,” Jackson said. “When I see them, I worry about them, and I just wish we had more outreach, especially on these cold, cold winter nights.” Jackson also urged the county to consider sidewalks for Oxon Hill Road, toward Old Fort Road. “I see so many people walking up that hill, and it’s really, really dangerous,” Jackson said. Poet “Sistah” Joy Alford of Camp Springs urged more spending for the arts, as well as the county’s public access channel and youth activities. “The arts have proven to provide a financial base in communities where the arts have been embraced,” Alford said. “Opportunities for artists can and need to be funded by our county government, as well as and in collaboration with state and federal entities.” Tommi Makila of Accokeek suggested the county cut spending by reducing trash pickups from twice a week to once a week. “It is ... my observation that the vast majority of my neighbors make use of only one of the weekly trash collection days,”
Donuts, 10260 Baltimore Ave., according to a statement from Dunkin’ Donuts. A Prince George’s police investigator read Aguilar’s journal, which police said contained information that made the investigator “concerned for the missing person’s safety.” Aguilar graduated from James Hubert Blake High School in Silver Spring in 2013, said Dana Tofig, a Montgomery County Public Schools spokesman. Alexander said Prince George’s police didn’t discover Aguilar was the alleged shooter until after 6 p.m. when the investigator followed Aguilar’s phone signal to the mall. The missing person information was turned over to the Howard County Police Department, which is investigating the shooting since the incident occurred inside Howard County, Alexander said. Prince George’s police did not make the missing person investigator available for interview. “We found out after the shooting,” Alexander said. “It was not like we could have intercepted him before it happened.” Police said Aguilar was living with his mother in College
Park. No one responded at Aguilar’s mother property and was not home or available for comment. Neighbors said they did not know Aguilar personally and that Saturday’s incident did not cause them to feel unsafe. Jessica Canotti said she bought her home off Hollywood Road about eight months ago and chose the neighborhood partly because it seemed safe and stable. “This neighborhood was quiet,” she said. “I did my research because I have kids. I want to know my neighbors.” Her husband, Daniel Canotti, said the neighborhood was not so quiet on Saturday afternoon when the roads were blocked and full of police cars. He said he still feels safe in his home. “But I’m a little scared to go to the mall now,” he said. Heidi Mayhew of College Park was picking up a piece of furniture a few houses down from Aguilar’s residence two days after the shooting. “It could be anywhere,” she said. “The only things that worry me are the things that happen in schools because my kids go to public schools. God, it’s happening everywhere.” Residents Sharri Gertler
dure in place to get people out.” Kent Digby, senior vice president at National Harbor, said he was confident in the active shooter training offered at the 350-acre development. There are police and emergency responders present on the property, which gives National Harbor an advantage when planning for active shooters because police actively train there, he said. Digby said there weren’t any current plans to change or adjust the development’s security in the wake of the Columbia shooting, but he did say those plans do experience change over time as police create new tactics or make changes to training standards. The harbor’s upcoming active shooter training will take place in April as planned, he said. “Things do change based on what is happening in the world,” Digby said. “We continue that training over the years and the police department makes sure the latest scenarios and techniques are known to everybody.” Alexander said active shooter training really hasn’t
changed too much since the Columbine incident 1999 where two high school students went on a shooting spree at Columbine High School in Colorado that left 15 dead, including the two shooters. Before that incident, active shooters were approached by creating a perimeter and waiting for special operations units, but now officers are told to enter the building and put a stop to the shooter as soon as possible, Alexander said. This change occurred because police departments began seeing situations where shooters were out to kill, not take hostages, he said. Alexander said the police department doesn’t have any current plans for active shooter training reminders, but he did say that the police department always makes efforts to remind large businesses, stores, residents and municipalities about the training. “We continue to train and prepare for the eventuality that it might or could occur,” Alexander said. “It is our responsibility to get in there as quick as possible and take care of bad guys.”
Makila said. “Some of the cost savings from reduced collection frequency could be directed to other efforts to combat littering. For example, illegal dumping is a particular concern here in the southern part of the county.” Baker said once-a-week trash collection is an “excellent example” of the sort of responses he hopes to get from the public and one that will be given serious consideration this
budget cycle. There will be two additional public forums, Tuesday at Dr. Henry A. Wise High School in Upper Marlboro and on Feb. 12 at Laurel High School. Both forums begin at 7 p.m. Baker is expected to present his budget to the County Council in March.
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and Walter Comisiak took one of their regular walks Monday around the neighborhood, a route that took them past Aguilar’s house. “I think it can happen anywhere and it has happened in many places you wouldn’t expect,” Gertler said. “I’m not moving because of it.” Gertler said residents are still processing what happened and what it means to them. “It’s a good solid community,” she said. “I think we’re all feeling the effects, but it could happen anywhere, and like I said, it does.” ccook@gazette.net eeastman@gazette.net
ccook@gazette.net
janfenson-comeau@ gazette.net
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Police investigate College Park hit-and-run The pedestrian struck in a College Park hit-and-run accident Friday may have been under the influence of alcohol, Prince George’s County police said. Police responded to the scene of the hit-and-run around 2 a.m. on Friday and found a man with critical injuries, said Bill Alexander, a county police spokesman. The man, who investigators believe is a University of Maryland, College Park, student, was taken to a hospital and has since stabilized, Alexander said. “He is expected to make a full recovery,” Alexander said. Police believe the pedestrian was walking on or crossing Md. 1 at the time of the accident, that he was not using a cross-
walk and that he may have been drinking, Alexander said. The accident was the second hit-and-run to take place on Route 1 within a week. On Jan. 17, a vehicle struck and killed UM student Corey Hubbard on Route 1 near Cherry Hill Road. Although the two incidents occurred during the same week, Alexander said they do not indicate that pedestrian-related accidents are on the rise. Police are offering a cash reward for information related to Friday’s accident or the driver, who may have been operating a green Subaru, Alexander said. Anyone with information is asked to call 866-411-TIPS. — EMILIE EASTMAN