Maryland mall gunman wrote of killing people

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Kathren Cameron places a teddy bear at the mall after it was reopened to the public, Monday, Jan. 27, 2014, in Columbia, Md.

By Hasani Gittens, News Editor, NBC News

The young man who killed two skate store employees and then shot himself inside a shopping mall wrote about killing people in his journal and said he was ready to die, Maryland police revealed Wednesday.

Howard County police released the details of Darion Aguilar's journal through their Twitter account.

Investigators say the 19-year-old Aguilar killed  Brianna Benlolo, 21, of College Park, Md., and Tyler Johnson, 25, of Mount Airy, Md., in a Zumiez skate store at the Mall in Columbia and then took his own life. Detectives have been trying to determine a motive.

Police now say Aguilar wrote in general terms in his journal about killing people — but did not mention targeting specific people or locations. Police say the journal "expresses a general hatred of others" and a willingness to die.

They said it showed he "knew he was having mental health issues." 

Handout / Reuters

Darion Marcus Aguilar, 19, of College Park, Maryland, identified by police as the gunman in Saturday's Columbia Mall shooting, is seen in an undated photo released by the Howard County Police Department.

He also apologized to his family for what he was planning to do, they said.

Cops on Wednesday also detailed how Aguilar assembled the shotgun before the rampage.

Aguilar carried the disassembled 12-gauge Mossberg shotgun into the mall in a backpack, the Howard County Police Department said on its Twitter feed.

Aguilar, who also lived in College Park, Maryland, put the shotgun together in a dressing room at the Zumiez skateboard store.

Then, police "believe Aguilar exited the Zumiez dressing room, shot the two victims and then himself," they said. Earlier, investigators had said that Aguilar had spent at least an hour in the mall before initiating the spree.

The skate store itself had no video cameras so there is no footage of the shootings, it said. Police have said Aguilar fired six to eight shots.

At one point, he stepped out of the store and wounded a woman who was struck in the foot, police said.

Aguilar was dead when officers arrived less than two minutes after the first 911 call, police said.

Investigators have not given a motive for the shootings. Police have said they have not turned up any relationship between the shop employees and Aguilar.

Police believe Aguilar legally bought the shotgun last month. The attack was the latest in a spate of U.S. shootings that has renewed questions about the vulnerability of public places in the United States.

Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report