Community Corner

Police: Armed Columbia Man Shot After Smashing Bus Window at BJs

Police say the man is in critical condition.

By Andrew Metcalf

A Columbia man remains in critical condition at Shock Trauma after being shot by a police officer inside BJ’s Wholesale Club in Columbia Wednesday morning.

The shooting was the culmination of a series of events that began with the man possibly shoplifting from the store around 11 a.m.

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Police said the man, Howard Carvel Smith, was stopped by a security guard in BJ’s after being suspected of shoplifting. Smith, 33, reportedly brandished a knife at the security guard, then fled the store and attempted to enter a public bus that was stopped on Snowden Square Drive, about 500 feet away. Police spokesperson Sherry Llewellyn said Smith broke the glass on the bus’ door with some kind of stick.

The bus driver did not open the door for Smith, said Llewellyn. Unsuccessful in his escape, he ran to the BJ’s tire center, which adjoins the main store. At least two police officers encountered Smith inside the tire center, said Llewellyn.

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Smith again brandished the knife inside the tire center and an officer shot him, police said. It is not known at this time how many shots were fired or how many times Smith was struck, police reported.

Police said they recovered an open folding knife and a stick, similar to a broom stick, inside the tire center.

About a dozen potential witnesses were seated behind the police line in folding lawn chairs under a tree. Two men were taken from the scene by detectives.

Llewellyn said those two people were with Smith at the time of the incident, but their involvement is not currently known.

“They are cooperating with our detectives, but are not in custody,” said Llewellyn. “No one has been charged with anything.”

Smith was previously found guilty of theft charges in Carroll County in 2008 and 2000, according to court records, when he was listed at an address in Westminster.

Police haven’t yet released the name of the officer involved in the shooting.

This is the second police-involved shooting in Columbia in the past year. In August 2012, a Howard County Police officer shot and killed a Baltimore man who police wanted on a warrant for first- and second-degree assault. Police suspected the man of putting a gun to his girlfriend’s head and kidnapping his two-year-old daughter. Police shot the man after he refused to show his hands inside a Columbia residence.

Previous Updates

Update, July 10, 5:01 p.m.: Police announced they located an open folding knife and a large wood stick, similar to a broom stick, at the scene of an officer involved shooting inside the tire center at BJ's Wholesale Club.

Update, July 10, 3:47 p.m.: Police have identified the man shot by police Wednesday at BJ's as Howard Carvel Smith, 33, of Columbia. He remains in critical condition at Shock Trauma, said police.

Update, July 10, 2:40 p.m.: A police spokesperson said it's not known whether a knife was recovered from the scene of Wednesday's police shooting at BJ's in Columbia.

The bus driver, Reynold Griffiths, told Explore Howard he did not see the man brandishing a knife when he attempted to break through the door to enter the public bus.

Police reported the man used a stick of some kind to break the bus door, but the bus driver said he used a shoulder, according to the report.

"We're still processing the scene and taking statements," said police spokesperson Sherry Llewellyn.

Llewellyn said police do not yet know what may have been shoplifted by the suspect, but are working on the initial details. Llewellyn said it's unknown at this time if the man made a threatening move toward police.

Update, July 10, 1:30 p.m.: A Howard County Police Officer shot a man Wednesday who had been accused of stealing from a Columbia store, according to a police spokesperson.

Police said they are not releasing the identity of the man, who is in his early 20s.

According to spokesperson Sherry Llewellyn, the man was inside BJs in the 9000 block of Snowden River Drive, when a security guard confronted him, accusing him of shoplifting. The man showed a knife, Llewellyn said, and threatened the security guard.

Then, according to Llewellyn, the man ran outside and grabbed a stick off the ground and ran toward a bus. He broke a window trying to get on the bus, Llewellyn said, but he couldn’t get on. At that point the man ran back to BJs, and went into the tire/automotive center, Llewellyn said.

By that time, Howard County Police had arrived on the scene. Officers told the man to drop the knife, but he didn’t, Llewellyn said. One officer shot the man; Llewellyn said she did not yet know how many police were on the scene. The name of the officer who shot the man has not yet been released.

Llewellyn said she does know how many times or where the man was shot; he is listed in critical condition at University of Maryland Shock Trauma.

The investigation is ongoing.


Original article, July 10, 1:40 p.m.: Howard County Police are on the scene of a police-involved shooting that took place in Columbia Wednesday morning, according to a statement from police.

Police said a call came in at 11:05 a.m. reporting a man with a knife in the automotive/tire section of BJs, located in the 9000 block of Snowden River Parkway. 

The man was shot "in a confrontation with police," according to the statement.

He was taken to University of Maryland Shock Trauma. Police believe his injuries are not life-threatening. The investigation is ongoing.

Andrew Metcalf contributed to this report. 


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