COLUMBIA, Md. — One person is dead and six others are hurt following a Monday morning mass shooting in Columbia.
Howard County Police believe the incident is linked to an illegal car rally.
Officers were called just before 5:30am to a parking garage of a business building on Alexander Bell Drive.
Man killed in mass shooting linked to Columbia car rally
At the scene Leo Noel Balladares-Arita, 24 of Falls Church, Virginia, was found dead, along with an injured woman who was taken to the hospital where she's expected to survive.
Over the next several hours, five more people checked into nearby hospitals suffering from gunshot wounds.
The surviving victims, all from Virginia, include three 20-year-old men, a 19-year-old woman, an 18-year-old man, and 16-year-old girl.
Detectives believe 40 to 50 individuals participated, most of them are also from Virginia.
Howard County Police tell us these rallies have become a regional issue.
In 2024 Maryland State Police began partnering with local law enforcement agencies to form a car rally task force which has dismantled 224 meet-ups, resulting in 91 arrests and 53 gun seizures.
No guns, however, have been recovered related to this latest shooting investigation.
Anyone with information can call police at 410-313-STOP or email HCPDcrimetips@howardcountymd.gov.
This story is developing. We will update this article as more information becomes available.
