Howard police arrest armed man outside Columbia mall, charge him with reckless endangerment, other offenses
Howard County police say a Laurel man with a gun was taken into custody outside The Mall in Columbia on Friday night.
Police were called a little after 7 p.m. for a report of a man with a gun outside the Lidl grocery store in the 10400 block of Little Patuxent Parkway, according to authorities.
The man, Tyquan Malik Jenkins, 26, was found displaying a handgun, Howard police said. Officers negotiated with him to ensure his safety and the safety of the people in the area, the police department wrote in a Facebook post Monday.
After 45 minutes of Jenkins displaying the gun and firing a shot toward an unoccupied area, officers used rubber bullets to disorient Jenkins without injuring him and were able to take him into custody, police said.
Jenkins was not threatening anyone or attempting to rob a store, and there were no injuries reported, police spokesperson Seth Hoffman said.
Police later learned that Jenkins had made the 911 call himself to prompt a police response, the Facebook post reads.
Police arrested Jenkins around 7:54 p.m., according to law enforcement, and he was taken to a Maryland Department of Health facility, according to court records.
He has been charged with multiple handgun violations and reckless endangerment, according to police. He was ordered to be held without bond, and a competency hearing is scheduled for Oct. 29 in Howard County District Court, electronic court records show.
