Howard police still are searching for a teen suspect in a fatal shooting midmorning Wednesday in front of the Wilde Lake Village Center in Columbia that shocked residents and forced several nearby schools into lockdown.
Bryan Antoine Adams Jr., 20, of Suffield Court in Columbia, was shot about 11:25 a.m. on the 10400 block of Twin Rivers Road, Howard police said.
Adams, a 2005 graduate of Wilde Lake High School, was taken to Howard County General Hospital, where he was pronounced dead as arrangements were being made to transport him to the University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore City, police said.
“I opened the blinds this morning and saw all the police,” said Scott Marcum, 28, who lives across the street from the scene of the shooting.
“I?d heard a popping noise earlier, but I didn?t know what it was.”
A Howard police officer, who was parked at the Crown gas station on Twin Rivers Road, heard the gunshots and then saw a witness running toward him for help, police said.
The area was cordoned off with yellow tape Wednesday afternoon as police cars lined the block.
Detectives took the surveillance tape from the Crown gas station and dusted the station door and one of the gas pumps for fingerprints.
Meanwhile, several area schools were placed on modified lockdown, including Wilde Lake High, Wilde Lake Middle, Bryant Woods Elementary, Swansfield Elementary, Harper?s Choice Middle and Oakland Mills High, said school system spokeswoman Patti Caplan.
In a modified lockdown, all doors are locked and people only can enter with proper identification. All activities occur indoors and all outdoor activities are banned, she said.
“There was no immediate threat, but we acted in a precautionary measure,” said Bryant Woods Elementary Principal Sean Martin, whose school was close to the scene.
Crown station owner Jeff Kamali, 48, said four men in their early 20s were at the station moments before the shooting. He said one of the men filled a can with gasoline, and the group left to take the gas can to a car. Kamali said he later learned one of those men was Adams.
Police questioned and released at least one of the men who was with Adams at the time of the shooting.
Police said there is no identified motive at this time.
Staff Writer Josh Kowalkowski contributed to this report.
