One man died and six people were injured in a shooting connected to an illegal car rally in Columbia on Monday morning, according to Howard County Police.

Authorities on Monday identified the victim as Leo Noel Balladares-Arita, 24, of Falls Church, Virginia.

Police responded around 5:27 a.m. to a parking garage in the 6700 block of Alexander Bell Drive for reports of a person shot. Officers found one man, who was pronounced dead at the scene, police said. Another man was transported to a nearby hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, according to a news release.

Area hospitals reported five walk-in shooting victims believed to be tied to the incident, police said. Their injuries do not appear life-threatening.

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Police said the injured included three 20-year-old men, a 19-year-old woman, an 18-year-old man and a 16-year-old girl.

The parking garage is in southeastern Columbia, not far from office buildings, supermarkets and retail stores.

Detectives believe many of the participants were “known to each other” and from Virginia, said Sherry Llewellyn, a spokesperson for the Police Department.

Maryland State Police lead a task force dubbed the Maryland Car Rally Task Force to crack down on illegal rallies, Llewellyn said. Howard County Police are part of the task force.

The task force has responded to 224 car rallies since June 2024, when the program started, according to Elena Russo, a state police spokesperson. The agency has arrested 91 people since 2024 and seized 53 firearms.

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So far this year, the task force has responded to 52 car rallies, arresting 28 people and seizing 15 firearms.

Anyone with information should contact Howard County Police by calling 410-313-STOP or emailing HCPDcrimetips@howardcountymd.gov