Crime & Safety

Gun Used in Columbia Mall Shootings Was Purchased in Rockville

The 19-year-old told told store owners he needed the weapon for 'personal defense,' The Washington Post reports.

The Mossberg 500 shotgun used in the Columbia Mall attacks was sold to the 19-year-old shooter at a Rockville gun shop.

In December, Darion Marcus Aguilar, of College Park, made two visits to the United Gun Shop in Rockville, where he purchased the .12-gauge shotgun and ammunition, Columbia Patch reported.

Gun shop owners told reporters that there were no red flags to alert them to what transpired on Saturday, when Aguilar killed two employees at a skateboard store at Columbia Mall and then killed himself.

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Shop owners told The Washington Post that Aguilar purchased the gun on Dec. 10. He claimed he needed the weapon for “personal defense," according to The Post.

WJLA reported that Aguilar filled out the proper paperwork and was checked against an FBI database, per federal law. 

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The store owners described him as “polite.”

Federal, state and local law enforcement agencies—including Montgomery County police—mobilized to support Howard County Police Department

At approximately 11:15 a.m. Saturday, Howard County's 911 dispatch center received more than 40 calls from the mall. Police arrived on the scene within two minutes.

Police found the bodies of Brianna Benlolo, 21, of College Park, and Tyler Johnson, 25, of Mount Airy, inside the Zumiez store.


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