Two stabbed at Wheaton Mall

Wheaton Mall, located on 1160 Veirs Mill Road, Silver Spring, was the center of attention on January 10, 2017, when two young males were stabbed. Officers were called to the scene around 3:15 PM and arrived to the two victims sustaining life-threatening wounds. The victims were not identified immediately and their ages were not released.

Police reported that the fight had ensued on the lower level near the Hollister store and a Filipino cuisine restaurant, Lumpia, Pansit Atbp. A young salesgirl working that day claimed to have seen a “kid” getting attacked and his friends trying to help him; she refused to state her name.

The suspect, 17-year-old Angelo Lamont Jackson from Montgomery Village, is facing two charges of first-degree murder. According to spokeswoman Gboyinde Onijal, Jackson is in the ninth grade at Richard Montgomery High School in Rockville and attended Clarksburg High School last year.

On Wednesday, January 11, Jackson was charged as an adult, and held without bond the following day. He had allegedly stabbed Angel Alfredo Gomez-Pineda, 24, of Silver Spring, and Kevin Siloe Maya-Cruz, 22, of Wheaton. The two had tried to poorly defend themselves with bamboo sticks from a decorative display in front of the restaurant.

Detectives utilized various indoor and outdoor surveillance cameras to piece together what had happened during the altercation. Police and many unidentified witnesses depicted a gruesome picture. It has been said that Jackson stabbed the first victim, and with the same knife, chased the second and stabbed him as well. A witness claimed that there was a lot of blood at the scene.

It has not been made clear whether or not there is any connection between the suspect and the victims. Police have said that words were exchanged between the assailant and the victims; however none of them chose to walk away. “The stabbings were violent and unnecessary,” said Montgomery County Police Spokesman Captain Paul Starks.

The two victims were taken to the hospital where they later succumbed to their injuries.

On the day of the stabbing, some stores were closed, and some stayed open, but an announcement was made for all shoppers to leave the premises. As they left the parking lots, police searched the back seats and trunks of their cars.

Metro riders on the Red Line were told to expect delays because of an investigation around the Wheaton area, but services resumed around 5 PM.

Police do not believe that this event will affect the safety of the mall and its surrounding areas.

Article by MoCo Student staff writer Shane Querubin of Richard Montgomery High School