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Brianna Benlolo, 21, was one of two mall employees who were shot at suburban Baltimore Mall in Columbia. Her colleague Tyler Johnson, 25, of Ellicott City, Md. was also killed by an unidentified shooter.
A lone gunman burst into a skate shop in a sprawling suburban Baltimore mall on Saturday, gunning down two of the store's employees, police said, turning a morning of perusing and window shopping into a day of death and chaos.
The shooter, who had a "large amount of ammunition" on his person, shot dead two employees of Zumiez, located on the second floor of the Mall in Columbia in suburban Baltimore, above the food court.
Police have identified the two fatal victims as Brianna Benlolo, 21, of College Park, Md. and Tyler Johnson, 25, of Ellicott City, Md. They both worked at the store but police have yet to identify the shooter.
"This shouldn't happen in our community, this shouldn't happen in any community," Howard County Police Chief Bill McMahon said at a press conference late Saturday afternoon, hours after the 11:15 a.m. shooting. He said investigators are still looking into a motive, and said that reports that the killings were part of a domestic dispute were purely speculative.
PHOTOS: THREE CONFIRMED DEAD IN MARYLAND MALL SHOOTINGThe identity of the shooter remains unknown, McMahon said. Police have yet to release the motive for the shooting and are confident he acted alone.
Police arrived at the sprawling mall only two minutes after the first 911 calls were placed, the police chief said, and secured the shopping center by 1 p.m.
Howard County Executive Ken Ulman said that the mall has been declared clear after local, state, and federal authorities scoured "every inch of the mall." Ulman praised authorities for following protocol, and deeming the shooting a "very scary incident."
Five others were wounded in the shooting and are being treated at local hospitals, though none of their injuries are considered life-threatening, according to a spokeswoman at Howard County General Hospital. All are in good condition, the spokeswoman said.
Authorities said they received a 911 call at 11:15 a.m., an hour and 15 minutes after the mall was scheduled to open. It was not immediately clear how many shoppers and retail workers were at the Columbia, Md., shopping center at the time of the shooting.
One frightened witness who works at Cartoon Cuts told NBCWashington.com that the sound of gunfire alarmed her. "It sounded like someone dropped something," she told the NBC site, "and all of a sudden, I see people fall to the ground ... I just saw everybody run, so I ran."
The Howard County Police said that the fire department and police are currently on the scene. The police department announced via Twitter around 1:26 p.m. that two more victims with "minor injuries" that were not directly related to the shooting were transported to a local hospital.
Authorities are asking shoppers to remain where they are until police can clear each area safely.
RELATED: SURVEILLANCE FOOTAGE SHOWS GUNMAN STROLLING THROUGH NEW JERSEY MALL AS SHOPPERS SCRAMBLEIan Kennedy, whose wife Lena and their two-year-old child were in the mall at the time of the shooting, told the Daily News that he was en route to the Mall in Columbia when he got a heart-stopping text. "She said, 'Don't come, there's a shooter' and said she was hiding in a closet," the 35-year-old nonprofit communications director said.
Lena Kennedy was able to escape, but her husband said he couldn't understand how a safe suburban neighborhood mall could become a scene of carnage.
"There's disbelief, there's sorrow, there's anger," he said of the mall, which he has been going to for 30 years. "There are no answers."
Workers at the mall echoed the sentiment. "I truly never thought something like this would ever happen here," said Allison Cohen, who works at apparel store "Lucky Brand Jeans. "It's really, really shocking."
RELATED: SUSPECTED GARDEN STATE PLAZA GUNMAN FOUND DEADThe shopping center, located in Howard County, is located between Baltimore and Washington.
With News Wire Services
bstebner@nydailynews.com
Follow me on Twitter: @bstebner
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