A 17-year-old has been charged with first-degree murder in the fatal shooting of another teen in July at The Mall in Columbia, Howard County Police said Tuesday.
Police said in a news release that the department is partnering with the U.S. Marshals Service to look for the teen, who has been charged as an adult in District Court of Maryland in Howard County.
Authorities said they believed a 17-year-old male victim was targeted on July 27, a weekend day when the mall was filled 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 because he is awaiting a determination on whether the matter should be adjudicated in the juvenile justice system, which would result in the case and his identity being permanently sealed.
In Maryland, children who are age 14 or older are automatically charged as adults for certain offenses, such as first-degree murder, that carry a potential life sentence. If a judge sends the case to the juvenile justice system, the court would have jurisdiction over the person charged until they turn 21.
Police said mall surveillance video shows the wanted teen at a table in the food court with his head down 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 one fatal shot from behind and runs through a back door.”
Little was pronounced dead at the scene near the food court. Police found him with a gun, and investigators said Little had been injured in an April 2023 shooting.
Little was a student at the Homewood Center in Ellicott City, Principal Dwayne Williams said in an email to the school community after the fatal shooting.
In the video released to the public, the teen being sought is seen wearing a dark mask covering his face, a black hooded sweatshirt with the hood over his head, black Adidas sweatpants and black shoes. A witness described him as a young Black male in his teens or 20s of small stature. The footage shows the suspect running through the housekeeping hallway in the mall.
Authorities are seeking the public’s help in locating the teen. The U.S. Marshals Service is offering a reward of up to $20,000 for information that leads to the suspect’s arrest. Howard County Police had already put up a $10,000 reward.
Anyone with information is urged to contact the U.S. Marshals Service at 1-877-WANTED2 or submit tips via the USMS Tips App.
