Police Chief William McMahon says authorities do not know what led a gunman to open fire with a shotgun in a skate shop at a crowded shopping centre near Baltimore, killing two store employees before apparently killing himself
A man carrying a shotgun opened fire at a busy shopping mall in suburban Baltimore in the US on Saturday, sending store employees and customers scrambling for cover.
Police said three people died, including the person believed to be the shooter. Five people were injured.
Police were still trying to determine the identity and motive of the gunman who killed a man and a woman, both in their 20s, at a skate shop called Zumiez on the upper level of the shopping cenre in Columbia, a suburb of both Baltimore and Washington.
Their identities were not released.
Howard County Police Chief William McMahon said at a news conference that authorities ran into difficulty in identifying the gunman because of concerns that he might have been carrying explosives and were proceeding with caution.
The police emergency dispatcher was called at around 11:15am (1615 GMT) to report the shooting.
Police responded to the scene within two minutes and found three people dead -- including one person who was found near a gun and ammunition -- either inside or outside the store, which sells skateboards and clothing and accessories.
Howard County General Hospital said it was treating five patients.
One patient was reported to be a shooting victim while at least three other patients sustained other injuries.
Source: APTN
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