17-Year-Old Charged as Adult After Shooting 13-Year-Old at Westfield Wheaton Mall in Maryland

Gunman opened fire near children's play area

A 17-year-old is facing adult charges after police say he opened fire inside Westfield Wheaton Mall in Montgomery County, Maryland, Friday evening, wounding a 13-year-old boy just steps from a children's play area.

Montgomery County Police said officers responded to the mall at 11160 Veirs Mill Rd. around 6 p.m. after the county's emergency communications center received more than 23 calls reporting an active shooter, according to Patch. Callers said a person dressed in black was firing at people on the mall's second level.

The suspect, identified as Diego Rafael Turcios Avalos of Silver Spring, allegedly sat near a Cinnabon store waiting for a group of teenagers to walk by, according to surveillance footage reviewed by detectives and reported by Patch and universalseer.online. Police say he then stood up, pulled out a handgun and fired several rounds at the group shortly before 6 p.m.

13-year-old shot in the ankle, security guard makes the stop

Officers who entered through the mall's lower level found a 13-year-old boy wounded near the Cinnabon and the children's play area, where children were reportedly playing at the time, according to Patch. The boy was struck in the ankle and taken to a hospital. Montgomery County Cmdr. David Smith said at a media briefing that the injury was not life-threatening and the victim was in stable condition, according to WBAL Baltimore.

"This is something we hate to see, especially with our youth," Smith said, according to WBAL.

Turcios Avalos allegedly ran toward a Dick's Sporting Goods store after the shooting. An armed security officer there saw him with the gun, ordered him to the ground and held him until police arrived, according to Patch. Officers found him lying on the floor outside the store's entrance and recovered a 9mm handgun at the scene.

Charges filed, suspect held pending bond

Turcios Avalos has been charged as an adult with attempted second-degree murder, first-degree assault, use of a firearm in the commission of a violent felony, carrying a loaded handgun and possession of a firearm by a minor, according to Patch and universalseer.online. He's being held at the Montgomery County Central Processing Unit pending a bond hearing.

Police have not released a motive. Detectives are still reviewing surveillance video and other evidence to determine what led up to the shooting, according to Montgomery County Police statements cited by universalseer.online. The investigation remains active.

The gun-control angle

Breitbart's AWR Hawkins pointed out that Maryland ranks No. 8 nationally for gun-law strictness according to Everytown for Gun Safety, the group founded with backing from Michael Bloomberg. Maryland requires universal background checks for handgun purchases, a concealed carry permit, and bans assault weapons, high-capacity magazines, bump stocks, Glock switches and ghost guns, among other restrictions.

A state with some of the toughest gun laws in the country still had a 17-year-old carrying a loaded 9mm handgun into a crowded shopping mall on a Friday evening. No background check, permit requirement, or magazine-capacity limit stopped him from getting the gun or bringing it inside. Whether that reflects a failure of enforcement, an illegal straw purchase or theft, or simply the limits of what any law can do against someone determined to break it, the police reports reviewed here don't say. Maryland's laws didn't prevent this shooting, whatever else they may or may not do statistically.

It was a privately employed armed security guard, not a state gun-control statute, who ended the threat.

What's still unknown

No motive has been released. Police haven't said whether Turcios Avalos knew the group of teenagers he allegedly fired at, or whether this was targeted or random. Investigators also haven't said how he obtained the 9mm handgun, a question that matters given Maryland's background-check and permitting requirements for handgun purchases.

A bond hearing is pending. Montgomery County Police say the investigation is ongoing and are asking anyone with additional information to come forward.