Gunman in mall shooting had no criminal record

Howard County police chief William McMahon speaks to reporters at the parking lot of the Mall in Columbia, Md., after a shooting at the mall on Saturday Jan. 25, 2014 in Howard County, Md. Police in Maryland say three people died Saturday in a shooting at a mall in suburban Baltimore, including the presumed gunman. ( AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

Howard County police chief William McMahon speaks to reporters at the parking lot of the Mall in Columbia, Md., after a shooting at the mall on Saturday Jan. 25, 2014 in Howard County, Md. Police in Maryland say three people died Saturday in a shooting at a mall in suburban Baltimore, including the presumed gunman. ( AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

The home of Darion Marcus Aguilar of College Park, Md., is seen Sunday, Jan. 26, 2014. Police say Aguilar carried out Saturday’s attack with a shotgun at a skateboard shop at the Mall of Columbia before killing himself. Howard County Police Chief William McMahon said investigators are trying to determine whether Aguilar knew either of the victims and whether he had a criminal record. They offered no motive for the shooting. (AP Photo/Ben Nuckles)

The home of Darion Marcus Aguilar of College Park, Md., is seen Sunday, Jan. 26, 2014. Police say Aguilar carried out Saturday’s attack with a shotgun at a skateboard shop at the Mall of Columbia before killing himself.Howard County Police Chief William McMahon said investigators are trying to determine whether Aguilar knew either of the victims and whether he had a criminal record. They offered no motive for the shooting. (AP Photo/Ben Nuckles)

A Montgomery County, Md., police officer walks in a parking lot at The Mall in Columbia, Saturday, Jan. 25, 2014, in Columbia, Md., following a shooting that police say three people died at the mall including the presumed gunman. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

Restaurant general manager Heather Saffield, watches though the glass door from her restaurant at The Mall in Columbia Saturday, Jan. 25, 2014, in Columbia, Md., as police continue the evacuation of the remaining mall visitors following a shooting that police say three people died including the presumed gunman. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

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COLUMBIA, Md. (AP) — The gunman who shot two people to death at a Maryland shopping mall had no criminal record, police said Sunday, but little else was known about the 19-year-old and whether he knew his victims.

Darion Marcus Aguilar of College Park, Md., carried out Saturday’s attack with a 12-gauge shotgun at a skateboard shop at the Mall in Columbia in suburban Baltimore before killing himself, police said.

Howard County Police Chief William McMahon said investigators are trying to determine whether Aguilar knew either of the victims, who were both employees of a shop called Zumiez, which sells skateboards, clothing and accessories.

Police identified the victims as 21-year-old Brianna Benlolo of College Park, Md., and 25-year-old Tyler Johnson of Mount Airy, Md. McMahon offered no motive for the shooting.

“There are a lot of unanswered questions,” McMahon said at a news conference. Aguilar purchased the shotgun legally last month at a store in neighboring Montgomery County.

It took hours to identify the gunman since he was carrying ammunition and a backpack containing homemade explosives, McMahon said. Officers searched Aguilar’s home Saturday night, recovering more ammunition, computers and documents, police said.

The home is a two-story wood-frame house in a middle-income neighborhood called Hollywood, just off U.S. Route 1 and near the Capital Beltway. No one answered the door Sunday morning at the house, which had a Christmas wreath on the front door, signs that read “Beware of Dog” and warnings about an alarm system.

Aguilar and his mother were renters at the home. Sirkka Singleton, who owns the property with her husband and lives a block away, said they use a property manager to find tenants and they have never met the Aguilars. She declined to say who the property manager was.

Residents described the neighborhood as a mix of owners and renters, including some University of Maryland students.

Katie Lawson, director of communications at the university, said campus police told her that Aguilar has never had been a student there. She said she had no information on the two victims.

Aguilar graduated in 2013 from James Hubert Blake High School in Silver Spring, said Dana Tofig, a Montgomery County schools spokesman.

A person who attended the high school with Aguilar told The Associated Press that he was an avid skateboarder.

Tydryn Scott, 19, said she was Aguilar’s lab partner in science class and described him as tall, skinny and quiet. She said he was interested in skateboarding and hung out with other skaters.

She said she was stung by the news that he was the shooter.

“It was really hurtful, like, wow — someone that I know, someone that I’ve been in the presence of more than short amounts of time. I’ve seen this guy in action before. Never upset, never sad, just quiet, just chill,” Scott said. “If any other emotion, he was happy, laughing.”

A man who answered the phone at Johnson’s residence in Mount Airy, northwest of Baltimore, said the family had no comment. But the victim’s aunt told a local television station that she did not believe her nephew knew Aguilar.

Sydney Petty, in a statement to WBAL-TV, also said she did not believe her nephew had a relationship with Benlolo outside work.

“Tyler didn’t have anything beyond a working relationship with this girl, and he would have mentioned it if he did, and we’re just as confused as anybody,” Petty said.

She said her nephew also worked at a drug rehabilitation center in Mount Airy, for which she served on the board.

Five other people were hurt in the attack and its aftermath, but only one was hit by gunfire. All were released from hospitals by Saturday evening, police said.

At the time of the shooting, the mall was busy with weekend shoppers and employees.

“There were a lot of people very close to where this happened,” Howard County Executive Ken Ulman said.

Police searched the mall with dogs overnight, and stores were to remain closed through Tuesday.

Benlolo’s grandfather, John Feins, said in a telephone interview from Florida that his granddaughter had a 2-year-old son and that the job at Zumiez was her first since she went back to work after her son’s birth.

“She was all excited because she was the manager there,” he said.

He described his daughter’s family as a military family that had moved frequently and had been in Colorado before moving to Maryland about two years ago. He said his granddaughter was on good terms with her son’s father, and they shared custody.

“I mean what can you say?” he said. “You go to work and make a dollar and you got some idiot coming in and blowing people away.”

___

Associated Press writers Jessica Gresko and Martin Di Caro in Washington contributed to this report. Eric Tucker contributed from Columbia, Md., and Kasey Jones reported from Baltimore.

Associated Press

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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Gunman in mall shooting had no criminal record

Gunman in mall shooting had no criminal record

Howard County police chief William McMahon speaks to reporters at the parking lot of the Mall in Columbia, Md., after a shooting at the mall on Saturday Jan. 25, 2014 in Howard County, Md. Police in Maryland say three people died Saturday in a shooting at a mall in suburban Baltimore, including the presumed gunman. ( AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

Howard County police chief William McMahon speaks to reporters at the parking lot of the Mall in Columbia, Md., after a shooting at the mall on Saturday Jan. 25, 2014 in Howard County, Md. Police in Maryland say three people died Saturday in a shooting at a mall in suburban Baltimore, including the presumed gunman. ( AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

The home of Darion Marcus Aguilar of College Park, Md., is seen Sunday, Jan. 26, 2014. Police say Aguilar carried out Saturday’s attack with a shotgun at a skateboard shop at the Mall of Columbia before killing himself. Howard County Police Chief William McMahon said investigators are trying to determine whether Aguilar knew either of the victims and whether he had a criminal record. They offered no motive for the shooting. (AP Photo/Ben Nuckles)

The home of Darion Marcus Aguilar of College Park, Md., is seen Sunday, Jan. 26, 2014. Police say Aguilar carried out Saturday’s attack with a shotgun at a skateboard shop at the Mall of Columbia before killing himself.Howard County Police Chief William McMahon said investigators are trying to determine whether Aguilar knew either of the victims and whether he had a criminal record. They offered no motive for the shooting. (AP Photo/Ben Nuckles)

A Montgomery County, Md., police officer walks in a parking lot at The Mall in Columbia, Saturday, Jan. 25, 2014, in Columbia, Md., following a shooting that police say three people died at the mall including the presumed gunman. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

Restaurant general manager Heather Saffield, watches though the glass door from her restaurant at The Mall in Columbia Saturday, Jan. 25, 2014, in Columbia, Md., as police continue the evacuation of the remaining mall visitors following a shooting that police say three people died including the presumed gunman. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

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COLUMBIA, Md. (AP) — The gunman who shot two people to death at a Maryland shopping mall had no criminal record, police said Sunday, but little else was known about the 19-year-old and whether he knew his victims.

Darion Marcus Aguilar of College Park, Md., carried out Saturday’s attack with a 12-gauge shotgun at a skateboard shop at the Mall in Columbia in suburban Baltimore before killing himself, police said.

Howard County Police Chief William McMahon said investigators are trying to determine whether Aguilar knew either of the victims, who were both employees of a shop called Zumiez, which sells skateboards, clothing and accessories.

Police identified the victims as 21-year-old Brianna Benlolo of College Park, Md., and 25-year-old Tyler Johnson of Mount Airy, Md. McMahon offered no motive for the shooting.

“There are a lot of unanswered questions,” McMahon said at a news conference. Aguilar purchased the shotgun legally last month at a store in neighboring Montgomery County.

It took hours to identify the gunman since he was carrying ammunition and a backpack containing homemade explosives, McMahon said. Officers searched Aguilar’s home Saturday night, recovering more ammunition, computers and documents, police said.

The home is a two-story wood-frame house in a middle-income neighborhood called Hollywood, just off U.S. Route 1 and near the Capital Beltway. No one answered the door Sunday morning at the house, which had a Christmas wreath on the front door, signs that read “Beware of Dog” and warnings about an alarm system.

Aguilar and his mother were renters at the home. Sirkka Singleton, who owns the property with her husband and lives a block away, said they use a property manager to find tenants and they have never met the Aguilars. She declined to say who the property manager was.

Residents described the neighborhood as a mix of owners and renters, including some University of Maryland students.

Katie Lawson, director of communications at the university, said campus police told her that Aguilar has never had been a student there. She said she had no information on the two victims.

Aguilar graduated in 2013 from James Hubert Blake High School in Silver Spring, said Dana Tofig, a Montgomery County schools spokesman.

A person who attended the high school with Aguilar told The Associated Press that he was an avid skateboarder.

Tydryn Scott, 19, said she was Aguilar’s lab partner in science class and described him as tall, skinny and quiet. She said he was interested in skateboarding and hung out with other skaters.

She said she was stung by the news that he was the shooter.

“It was really hurtful, like, wow — someone that I know, someone that I’ve been in the presence of more than short amounts of time. I’ve seen this guy in action before. Never upset, never sad, just quiet, just chill,” Scott said. “If any other emotion, he was happy, laughing.”

A man who answered the phone at Johnson’s residence in Mount Airy, northwest of Baltimore, said the family had no comment. But the victim’s aunt told a local television station that she did not believe her nephew knew Aguilar.

Sydney Petty, in a statement to WBAL-TV, also said she did not believe her nephew had a relationship with Benlolo outside work.

“Tyler didn’t have anything beyond a working relationship with this girl, and he would have mentioned it if he did, and we’re just as confused as anybody,” Petty said.

She said her nephew also worked at a drug rehabilitation center in Mount Airy, for which she served on the board.

Five other people were hurt in the attack and its aftermath, but only one was hit by gunfire. All were released from hospitals by Saturday evening, police said.

At the time of the shooting, the mall was busy with weekend shoppers and employees.

“There were a lot of people very close to where this happened,” Howard County Executive Ken Ulman said.

Police searched the mall with dogs overnight, and stores were to remain closed through Tuesday.

Benlolo’s grandfather, John Feins, said in a telephone interview from Florida that his granddaughter had a 2-year-old son and that the job at Zumiez was her first since she went back to work after her son’s birth.

“She was all excited because she was the manager there,” he said.

He described his daughter’s family as a military family that had moved frequently and had been in Colorado before moving to Maryland about two years ago. He said his granddaughter was on good terms with her son’s father, and they shared custody.

“I mean what can you say?” he said. “You go to work and make a dollar and you got some idiot coming in and blowing people away.”

___

Associated Press writers Jessica Gresko and Martin Di Caro in Washington contributed to this report. Eric Tucker contributed from Columbia, Md., and Kasey Jones reported from Baltimore.

Associated Press

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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Gunman in mall shooting had no criminal record

Gunman in mall shooting had no criminal record

Gunman in mall shooting had no criminal record
http://hosted2.ap.org/CBImages/?media=photo&contentId=1b203b6489e5f503490f6a7067002ad8&fmt=jpg&Role=Preview&reldt=2014-01-25T21:46:34GMT&authToken=eNoFwrkNwCAQBMCKTlruWSCgGLBBInPogOLRzJl%2fo4XSw0gD4LBynt3SUNigS6kzZAVMvGIJewYzoP0tZ39NkiYNV9QL5NAS8w%3d%3d

Howard County police chief William McMahon speaks to reporters at the parking lot of the Mall in Columbia, Md., after a shooting at the mall on Saturday Jan. 25, 2014 in Howard County, Md. Police in Maryland say three people died Saturday in a shooting at a mall in suburban Baltimore, including the presumed gunman. ( AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

Howard County police chief William McMahon speaks to reporters at the parking lot of the Mall in Columbia, Md., after a shooting at the mall on Saturday Jan. 25, 2014 in Howard County, Md. Police in Maryland say three people died Saturday in a shooting at a mall in suburban Baltimore, including the presumed gunman. ( AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

The home of Darion Marcus Aguilar of College Park, Md., is seen Sunday, Jan. 26, 2014. Police say Aguilar carried out Saturday’s attack with a shotgun at a skateboard shop at the Mall of Columbia before killing himself. Howard County Police Chief William McMahon said investigators are trying to determine whether Aguilar knew either of the victims and whether he had a criminal record. They offered no motive for the shooting. (AP Photo/Ben Nuckles)

The home of Darion Marcus Aguilar of College Park, Md., is seen Sunday, Jan. 26, 2014. Police say Aguilar carried out Saturday’s attack with a shotgun at a skateboard shop at the Mall of Columbia before killing himself.Howard County Police Chief William McMahon said investigators are trying to determine whether Aguilar knew either of the victims and whether he had a criminal record. They offered no motive for the shooting. (AP Photo/Ben Nuckles)

A Montgomery County, Md., police officer walks in a parking lot at The Mall in Columbia, Saturday, Jan. 25, 2014, in Columbia, Md., following a shooting that police say three people died at the mall including the presumed gunman. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

Restaurant general manager Heather Saffield, watches though the glass door from her restaurant at The Mall in Columbia Saturday, Jan. 25, 2014, in Columbia, Md., as police continue the evacuation of the remaining mall visitors following a shooting that police say three people died including the presumed gunman. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

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COLUMBIA, Md. (AP) — The gunman who shot two people to death at a Maryland shopping mall had no criminal record, police said Sunday, but little else was known about the 19-year-old and whether he knew his victims.

Darion Marcus Aguilar of College Park, Md., carried out Saturday’s attack with a 12-gauge shotgun at a skateboard shop at the Mall in Columbia in suburban Baltimore before killing himself, police said.

Howard County Police Chief William McMahon said investigators are trying to determine whether Aguilar knew either of the victims, who were both employees of a shop called Zumiez, which sells skateboards, clothing and accessories.

Police identified the victims as 21-year-old Brianna Benlolo of College Park, Md., and 25-year-old Tyler Johnson of Mount Airy, Md. McMahon offered no motive for the shooting.

“There are a lot of unanswered questions,” McMahon said at a news conference. Aguilar purchased the shotgun legally last month at a store in neighboring Montgomery County.

It took hours to identify the gunman since he was carrying ammunition and a backpack containing homemade explosives, McMahon said. Officers searched Aguilar’s home Saturday night, recovering more ammunition, computers and documents, police said.

The home is a two-story wood-frame house in a middle-income neighborhood called Hollywood, just off U.S. Route 1 and near the Capital Beltway. No one answered the door Sunday morning at the house, which had a Christmas wreath on the front door, signs that read “Beware of Dog” and warnings about an alarm system.

Aguilar and his mother were renters at the home. Sirkka Singleton, who owns the property with her husband and lives a block away, said they use a property manager to find tenants and they have never met the Aguilars. She declined to say who the property manager was.

Residents described the neighborhood as a mix of owners and renters, including some University of Maryland students.

Katie Lawson, director of communications at the university, said campus police told her that Aguilar has never had been a student there. She said she had no information on the two victims.

Aguilar graduated in 2013 from James Hubert Blake High School in Silver Spring, said Dana Tofig, a Montgomery County schools spokesman.

A person who attended the high school with Aguilar told The Associated Press that he was an avid skateboarder.

Tydryn Scott, 19, said she was Aguilar’s lab partner in science class and described him as tall, skinny and quiet. She said he was interested in skateboarding and hung out with other skaters.

She said she was stung by the news that he was the shooter.

“It was really hurtful, like, wow — someone that I know, someone that I’ve been in the presence of more than short amounts of time. I’ve seen this guy in action before. Never upset, never sad, just quiet, just chill,” Scott said. “If any other emotion, he was happy, laughing.”

A man who answered the phone at Johnson’s residence in Mount Airy, northwest of Baltimore, said the family had no comment. But the victim’s aunt told a local television station that she did not believe her nephew knew Aguilar.

Sydney Petty, in a statement to WBAL-TV, also said she did not believe her nephew had a relationship with Benlolo outside work.

“Tyler didn’t have anything beyond a working relationship with this girl, and he would have mentioned it if he did, and we’re just as confused as anybody,” Petty said.

She said her nephew also worked at a drug rehabilitation center in Mount Airy, for which she served on the board.

Five other people were hurt in the attack and its aftermath, but only one was hit by gunfire. All were released from hospitals by Saturday evening, police said.

At the time of the shooting, the mall was busy with weekend shoppers and employees.

“There were a lot of people very close to where this happened,” Howard County Executive Ken Ulman said.

Police searched the mall with dogs overnight, and stores were to remain closed through Tuesday.

Benlolo’s grandfather, John Feins, said in a telephone interview from Florida that his granddaughter had a 2-year-old son and that the job at Zumiez was her first since she went back to work after her son’s birth.

“She was all excited because she was the manager there,” he said.

He described his daughter’s family as a military family that had moved frequently and had been in Colorado before moving to Maryland about two years ago. He said his granddaughter was on good terms with her son’s father, and they shared custody.

“I mean what can you say?” he said. “You go to work and make a dollar and you got some idiot coming in and blowing people away.”

___

Associated Press writers Jessica Gresko and Martin Di Caro in Washington contributed to this report. Eric Tucker contributed from Columbia, Md., and Kasey Jones reported from Baltimore.

Associated Press

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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Gunman, 18, wounds classmate in Colorado school

Students comfort each other at Arapahoe High School in Centennial, Colo., on Friday, Dec. 13, 2013, where a student shot at least one other student at a Colorado high school Friday before he apparently killed himself, authorities said. The shooter entered Arapahoe High School in a Denver suburb armed with a shotgun and looking for a teacher he identified by name, said Arapahoe County Sheriff Grayson Robinson. (AP Photo/Ed Andrieski)

Students comfort each other at Arapahoe High School in Centennial, Colo., on Friday, Dec. 13, 2013, where a student shot at least one other student at a Colorado high school Friday before he apparently killed himself, authorities said. The shooter entered Arapahoe High School in a Denver suburb armed with a shotgun and looking for a teacher he identified by name, said Arapahoe County Sheriff Grayson Robinson. (AP Photo/Ed Andrieski)

Senior Jenni Meyers, center, is hugged by her sister Mary as they leave a church with their mother Julie after they were reunited after a shooting at nearby Arapahoe High School in Centennial, Colo., on Friday, Dec. 13, 2013. Arapahoe County Sheriff Grayson Robinson said the shooter shot two others at the school, before apparently killing himself.(AP Photo/Brennan Linsley)

A woman screams as she arrives at a church where students from nearby Arapahoe High School were evacuated to after a shooting on the Centennial, Colo., campus Friday, Dec. 13, 2013. Arapahoe County Sheriff Grayson Robinson said the shooter shot two others at the school, before apparently killing himself.(AP Photo/Brennan Linsley)

Students wait for buses to take them to be reunited with their parents after they were evacuated from Arapahoe High School after a shooting on the campus in Centennial, Colo., on Friday, Dec. 13, 2013. Arapahoe County Sheriff Grayson Robinson said the shooter shot two others at the school, before apparently killing himself. (AP Photo/The Denver Post, Karl Gehring) MAGS OUT; TV OUT; INTERNET OUT; NO SALES; NEW YORK POST OUT; NEW YORK DAILY NEWS OUT

A student stares out a bus window as it arrives at a church to be reunited with family after students from nearby Arapahoe High School were evacuated their after a shooting at the school in Centennial, Colo., Friday, Dec. 13, 2013. Arapahoe County Sheriff Grayson Robinson said the shooter shot two others at the school, before apparently killing himself.(AP Photo/Brennan Linsley)

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CENTENNIAL, Colo. (AP) — A teenager who may have had a grudge against a teacher opened fire Friday with a shotgun at a suburban Denver high school, wounding a fellow student before killing himself.

Quick-thinking students alerted the targeted teacher, who quickly left the building. The scene unfolded on the eve of the Newtown massacre anniversary, a somber reminder of the ever-present potential for violence in the nation’s schools.

The wounded student, a 15-year-old girl, underwent surgery and was in critical condition. Authorities originally said a second student was wounded, but Arapahoe County Sheriff Grayson Robinson said Friday night that the other girl taken to a hospital was covered in blood from the other student, but wasn’t injured.

Robinson identified the shooter as Karl Halverson Pierson, 18. The sheriff did not elaborate on any possible motive except to say Pierson had had a “confrontation or disagreement” with the teacher.

Pierson made no attempt to hide his weapon after entering the school from a parking lot and asking for the teacher by name, Robinson said.

When the teacher learned that he was being targeted, he left “in an effort to try to encourage the shooter to also leave the school,” the sheriff said. “That was a very wise tactical decision.”

Jessica Girard was in math class when she heard three shots.

“Then there was a bunch of yelling, and then I think one of the people who had been shot was yelling in the hallway ‘Make it stop,’” she said.

Two suspected Molotov cocktails were also found inside the school, the sheriff said. One detonated, though no one was injured.

The school was swiftly locked down. Within 20 minutes of the first report of a gunman, officers found Pierson’s body inside the school, Robinson said.

Several other Denver-area school districts went into lockdown as reports of the shooting spread. Police as far away as Fort Collins, about a two-hour drive north, stepped up school security.

Arapahoe High students were seen walking toward the school’s running track with their hands in the air, and television footage showed students being patted down. Robinson said deputies wanted to make sure there were no other conspirators. Authorities later concluded that Pierson had acted alone.

Nearby neighborhoods were jammed with cars as parents sought out their children. Some parents stood in long lines at a church. One young girl who was barefoot embraced her parents, and the family began to cry.

The shooting came a day before the anniversary of the Newtown, Conn., attack in which a gunman killed 20 children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School.

Arapahoe High stands just 8 miles east of Columbine High School in Littleton, where two teenage shooters killed 12 classmates and a teacher before killing themselves in 1999. The practice of sending law enforcement directly into an active shooting, as was done Friday, was a tactic that developed in response to the Columbine shooting.

Since Columbine, Colorado has endured other mass shootings, including the killing of 12 people in a movie theater in nearby Aurora in 2012. But it was not until after the Newtown massacre that state lawmakers moved to enact stricter gun control laws. Two Democratic lawmakers were recalled from office earlier this year for backing the laws, and a third recently resigned to avoid a recall election.

The district attorney prosecuting the theater shooting, George Brauchler, lives near Arapahoe High. At a news conference, he urged anyone who needed help to call a counseling service and gave out a phone number.

Tracy Monroe, who had step-siblings who attended Columbine, was standing outside the school on Friday looking at her phone, reading text messages from her 15-year-old daughter inside.

Monroe said she got the first text from her daughter, sophomore Jade Stanton, at 12:41 p.m. The text read, “There’s sirens. It’s real. I love you.”

A few minutes later, Jade texted “shots were fired in our school.” Monroe rushed to the school and was relieved when Jade texted that a police officer entered her classroom and she was safe.

Monroe was family friends with a teacher killed in the Columbine shooting, Dave Sanders.

“We didn’t think it could happen in Colorado then, either,” Monroe said.

After hearing three shots, freshman Colton Powers said, everyone “ran to the corner of the room and turned off the lights and locked the door and just waited, hoped for the best. A lot of people I couldn’t see, but they were crying. I was scared. I didn’t know what to do.”

His mother, Shelly Powers, said she first got word of the shooting in the middle of a conference call at work.

“I dropped all my devices, got my keys and got in my car,” she said. “I was crying all the way here.”

More than 2,100 students attend Arapahoe High, where nine out of 10 graduates go on to college, according to the Littleton Public Schools website.

___

Associated Press Writer P. Solomon Banda in Centennial contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Top Headlines

Gunman, 18, wounds classmate in Colorado school

Student gunman wounds 2 classmates in Colo. school

CENTENNIAL, Colo. (AP) — A teenager who may have had a grudge against a teacher opened fire Friday with a shotgun at a suburban Denver high school, wounding two fellow students before killing himself.

Quick-thinking students alerted the targeted teacher, who quickly left the building, and police immediately locked down the scene on the eve of the Newtown massacre anniversary, a somber reminder of how commonplace school violence has become.

One of the wounded students, a girl, was hospitalized in serious condition. The other student suffered minor gunshot-related injuries and was expected to be released from the hospital Friday evening, authorities said.

A third person was being treated for unspecified injuries but had not been shot, a hospital spokeswoman said.

Arapahoe County Sheriff Grayson Robinson initially reported that the most seriously hurt student was wounded after confronting the gunman, but he later said that did not appear to be the case.

The gunman made no attempt to hide the weapon when he entered the school from a parking lot and started asking for the teacher by name, Robinson said.

When the teacher learned that he was being targeted, he left “in an effort to try to encourage the shooter to also leave the school,” the sheriff said. “That was a very wise tactical decision.”

Jessica Girard was in math class when she heard three shots.

“Then there was a bunch of yelling, and then I think one of the people who had been shot was yelling in the hallway ‘Make it stop,’” she said.

A suspected Molotov cocktail was also found inside the high school, the sheriff said. The bomb squad was investigating the device.

Within 20 minutes of the first report of a gunman, officers found the suspect’s body inside the school, Robinson said.

Several other Denver-area school districts went into lockdown as reports of the shooting spread. Police as far away as Fort Collins, about a two-hour drive north, stepped up school security.

Arapahoe High students were seen walking toward the school’s running track with their hands in the air, and television footage showed students being patted down. Robinson said deputies wanted to make sure there were no other conspirators. Authorities later concluded that the gunman had acted alone.

Nearby neighborhoods were jammed with cars as parents sought out their children. Some parents stood in long lines at a church. One young girl who was barefoot embraced her parents, and the family began to cry.

The shooting came a day before the anniversary of the Newtown, Conn., attack in which a gunman killed 20 children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School.

Arapahoe High stands just 8 miles east of Columbine High School in Littleton, where two teenage shooters killed 12 classmates and a teacher before killing themselves in 1999. The practice of sending law enforcement directly into an active shooting, as was done Friday, was a tactic that developed in response to the Columbine shooting.

Since Columbine, Colorado has endured other mass shootings, including the killing of 12 people in a movie theater in nearby Aurora in 2012. But it was not until after the Newtown massacre that state lawmakers moved to enact stricter gun-control laws. Two Democratic lawmakers were recalled from office earlier this year for backing the laws, and a third recently resigned to avoid a recall election.

The district attorney prosecuting the theater shooting, George Brauchler, lives near the high school. At a news conference, he urged anyone who needed help to call a counseling service and gave out a phone number.

Tracy Monroe, who had step-siblings who attended Columbine, was standing outside Arapahoe High on Friday looking at her phone, reading text messages from her 15-year-old daughter inside.

Monroe said she got the first text from her daughter, sophomore Jade Stanton, at 12:41 p.m. The text read, “There’s sirens. It’s real. I love you.”

A few minutes later, Jade texted “shots were fired in our school.” Monroe rushed to the school and was relieved when Jade texted that a police officer entered her classroom and she was safe.

Monroe was family friends with a teacher killed in the Columbine shooting, Dave Sanders.

“We didn’t think it could happen in Colorado then, either,” Monroe said.

After hearing three shots, freshman Colton Powers said everyone “ran to the corner of the room and turned off the lights and locked the door and just waited, hoped for the best. A lot of people, I couldn’t see, but they were crying. I was scared. I didn’t know what to do.”

His mother, Shelly Powers, said she first got word of the shooting in the middle of a conference call at work.

“I dropped all my devices, got my keys and got in my car,” she said. “I was crying all the way here.”

More than 2,100 students attend Arapahoe High, where nine out of 10 graduates go on to college, according to the Littleton Public Schools website.

___

Associated Press Writer P. Solomon Banda in Centennial contributed to this report.

Associated Press

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JFK Conspiracy Theory: Second Gunman

LAX gunman targeted TSA employees, police investigate ‘NWO’ conspiracy motive

At Alternate Viewpoint, the privacy of our visitors is of extreme importance to us (See this article to learn more about Privacy Policies.). This privacy policy document outlines the types of personal information is received and collected by Alternate Viewpoint and how it is used.

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LAX gunman targeted TSA employees, police investigate ‘NWO’ conspiracy motive

Investigators review erratic behavior of DC gunman

In this photo provided by the U.S. Navy, an FBI evidence response team vehicle is parked outside Building 197 at the Navy Yard in Washington as evidence is collected Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2013. A gunman killed 12 people at the base on Monday, Sept. 16, 2013. (AP Photo/U.S. Navy, Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Pedro A. Rodriguez)

In this photo provided by the U.S. Navy, an FBI evidence response team vehicle is parked outside Building 197 at the Navy Yard in Washington as evidence is collected Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2013. A gunman killed 12 people at the base on Monday, Sept. 16, 2013. (AP Photo/U.S. Navy, Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Pedro A. Rodriguez)

Bishops Gerald Seabrooks, right, and Willie Billips speak to reporters after Cathleen Alexis, mother of Washington Navy Yard gunman Aaron Alexis, made a statement at her home in New York’s Brooklyn borough on Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2013. Cathleen Alexis said that she does not know why her son did what he did and she will never be able to ask him. Aaron Alexis opened fire Monday, killing 12 people, before he was killed in a shootout with police. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Martin Dempsey speak at a news conference at The Pentagon, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2013. Hagel is ordering the Pentagon to review the physical security of all U.S. defense facilities worldwide and the security clearances that allow access to them. Hagel ordered the reviews in response to Monday’s shooting rampage at the Washington Navy Yard, where a dozen people were killed. The shooter, Aaron Alexis, also was killed. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

Police park next to the home of Cathleen Alexis, mother of Navy Yard shooter Aaron Alexis, in Brooklyn, N.Y. Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2013. The mother of the man who killed 12 people at the Washington Navy Yard made a statement that said she is “so, so very sorry that this has happened.” (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Bishop Gerald Seabrooks shows a statement made by Cathleen Alexis, mother of Washington Navy Yard gunman Aaron Alexis, in New York’s Brooklyn borough on Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2013. Cathleen Alexis said that she does not know why her son did what he did and she will never be able to ask him. Aaron Alexis opened fire Monday, killing 12 people, before he was killed in a shootout with police. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

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WASHINGTON (AP) — Investigators have been focusing on the erratic behavior of a former Navy reservist who law enforcement officials say was grappling with paranoia and had reported hearing voices and being followed before he gunned down 12 people at the Washington Navy Yard this week.

The Department of Veterans Affairs said Wednesday that 34-year-old Aaron Alexis visited two hospitals in the weeks before the Monday morning rampage but denied that he was depressed or having thoughts of harming himself or others.

Alexis, who died in a police shootout after the rampage, complained of insomnia during an Aug. 23 emergency room visit to the VA Medical Center in Providence, R.I. He was given sleep medication and advised to follow up with a doctor. He made a similar visit five days later to the VA hospital in Washington, when he again complained of not being able to sleep because of his work schedule. His medication was refilled.

Alexis appeared “alert and oriented” during the visits and denied feeling depressed or anxious or wanting to do harm, the VA said in a statement presented to lawmakers Wednesday.

Two weeks before his ER visit, for instance, he complained to police in Rhode Island that people were talking to him through the walls and ceilings of his hotel room and sending microwave vibrations into his body to deprive him of sleep. Navy officials said the Newport police reported the incident to officers at the base security office, but nothing more was done about it because he did not appear to be a threat to himself or anyone else at the time.

Despite the apparent concerns over his mental health and past run-ins with the law, Alexis maintained his security clearance as he arrived in Washington in late August for a job as an information technology employee at a defense-related computer company.

Alexis had been a full-time Navy reservist from 2007 to early 2011, and a Navy spokesman said his security clearance, at the “secret level,” was good for 10 years from when he got it.

On Monday morning, he used a valid badge to gain access to the sprawling Navy Yard and Building 197, bringing with him a sawed-off shotgun on which the cryptic messages of “better off this way” and “my ELF weapon” were scrawled, according to a law enforcement document reviewed by The Associated Press. The meaning of those words wasn’t immediately clear.

The motive of the shooting also remains unclear, though investigators have focused on Alexis’s mental health and alarming behavior displayed in the weeks before the massacre.

Alexis had enrolled in VA health care in February 2011, and received monthly disability payments of $ 395 for orthopedic problems and ringing in his ears, according to the VA. He never sought an appointment from a mental health specialist and either canceled or failed to show up for primary care appointments he had scheduled at VA hospitals, the department said.

Meanwhile, Alexis’s mother said Wednesday she does not know why her son opened fire on office workers and police. Cathleen Alexis read a brief statement inside her New York home, her voice shaking. She did not take questions from a reporter.

“Aaron is now in a place where he can no longer do harm to anyone, and for that I am glad,” Cathleen Alexis said. “To the families of the victims, I am so so very sorry that this has happened. My heart is broken.”

Alexis had with him during the massacre a handgun he picked up inside the building and a legally obtained Remington 870 Express shotgun.

The shotgun was brought into the building disassembled and pieced together by Alexis once inside, according to a law enforcement official and a senior defense official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.

That firearm would not be covered under a proposed weapons ban supported by the White House. The ban was introduced in the Senate earlier this year and would prohibit 157 specific firearms designed for military and law enforcement use, and it would exempt more than 2,200 others.

The rampage and shootout spanned more than 30 minutes. One District of Columbia police officer was shot and wounded in the legs but survived. The U.S. Capitol Police, which protects members of Congress and Congressional buildings, announced Wednesday that it has ordered an investigation into the force’s response. The fact review team is expected to look into reports that one of the force’s tactical response teams arrived within minutes of the shootings and was told by a Capitol Police supervisor to stand down. The Navy Yard is less than three miles from the Capitol complex.

Senate Sergeant at Arms Terrance Gainer said in an email that if the reports are accurate, “It would be an unbearable failure. The Police Board will conduct a review of all facts related to our response.”

The shooting also raised questions about the adequacy of background checks for government contractors who have access to sensitive information. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel has also ordered two sweeping reviews of military security and employee screening programs, acknowledging Wednesday that “a lot of red flags” may have been missed in the background of the Washington Navy Yard shooter.

“Obviously, there were a lot of red flags,” Hagel told reporters at a Pentagon briefing. “Why they didn’t get picked, why they didn’t get incorporated into the clearance process, what he was doing — those are all legitimate questions that we’re going to be dealing with.”

Navy Secretary Ray Mabus, meanwhile, announced Wednesday night that he wants three rapid reviews completed by Oct. 1, including whether a contracting company should inform the Navy if it decides to review a worker’s security clearance.

That order raises questions about whether the company that employed Alexis, the Florida-based IT consulting firm The Experts, had decided to review his clearance. A security clearance often is critical for contractors working in defense jobs.

The Navy Yard, located in southeast Washington, reopened and returned to mostly normal operations Thursday, although Building 197 and the gym, which is being used as a staging area for the FBI, remained closed. President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama are expected to attend a memorial service for the shooting victims Sunday.

___

Associated Press writers Kevin Freking, Lolita C. Baldor, Laurie Kellman, Alicia A. Caldwell and Eileen Sullivan in Washington contributed to this report.

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Investigators review erratic behavior of DC gunman