Teen Arrested After Woman Shot At While Sitting In Vehicle: Howard County Police

COLUMBIA, MD — A teenage boy has been arrested in connection to an incident in May where a suspect shot at a woman sitting in her vehicle.

On May 15, police were called to the Owen Brown Village Center, where they learned that after an argument, a suspect fired at a woman in her vehicle, hitting the vehicle at least once. No one in the vehicle was injured and no other property was hit by bullets, according to the Howard County Police.

During their investigation, police identified the suspected shooter as a 17-year-old boy from Columbia and arrested him June 11. They also found a loaded handgun at his home. The suspect has been charged as an adult with assault, reckless endangerment and various weapon violations, the police department said.

Since the fatal shooting at The Mall in Columbia in July, there have been four more fatal shootings in the Columbia area. The suspects involved range in age from 14 to 20. In April, officials said additional police officers would be stationed in downtown Columbia as part of a crime reduction plan county leaders launched earlier this year.

The initiative came on the heels of the deadly shooting in February 2025 outside The Mall in Columbia. Emmetson Zeah, 18, of Columbia has been charged with first-degree murder and attempted first-degree murder in the shooting.

Blake McCray, 15, was critically injured in the shooting, and died five days later, while the person he was with outside the mall Feb. 22 — Michael Robertson, 16 — died at the scene, Patch reported previously.

The permanent, full-time unit of police officers oversee the Merriweather District, The Mall in Columbia and Columbia Lakefront. They have a full-time satellite office inside the mall. The police department also added an additional beat for patrol officers that are assigned solely to the mall, 24 hours a day.

Earlier this month, the Howard County Police said a new police satellite office has been established at Green Valley Marketplace in Elkridge. The new office, at 7280 Montgomery Road, provides patrol officers assigned to the area with a home base to address concerns in Elkridge and surrounding areas.

While it won't be staffed 24/7, the new satellite office provides patrol officers assigned to the area with a home base.

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