After a killing and robbery at the Arundel Mills Mall this weekend, Anne Arundel officials expressed confidence in customer safety at the retail and dining complex, while also acknowledging the need for additional security.

“We are not going to be immune to issues between human beings,” District 1 County Council member Pete Smith said Monday.

Smith, a Severn Democrat, represents the northern area of the county that includes Arundel Mills Mall and the many businesses surrounding it.

Given that tens of thousands of people visit the mall every year — Arundel Mills is one of Maryland’s top tourist destinations — Smith said crime will be a natural factor.

According to police department spokesperson Marc Limansky, there have been 62 assaults — 18 of which involved a deadly weapon or ended with a serious injury — on the Arundel Mills property since the beginning of the year. Last year, data shows police responded to 33 assaults at the Hanover mall, 25 of which were aggravated.

“When you have that volume [of people] at the Arundel Mills complex, you’re more likely to have issues,” Smith said.

Anne Arundel Police reported two crimes in the area surrounding the mall Friday night. Both took place within 15 minutes of each other.

Approximately 9:30 p.m., officers responded to the rear parking lot of the Cinemark movie theater, past the Buffalo Wild Wings and Yard House restaurants. There, they found Yant Junior Gomez suffering from a gunshot wound to the upper torso. Gomez died en route to a hospital, according to a news release.

A resident of Harlem, New York, Gomez was 31, police said.

The parking lot behind the Egyptian-themed theater contains hundreds of spaces and is far from the entrance to the Cinemark’s 24 auditoriums. The next closest entrance from the lot extends well along the mall’s perimeter and precedes the Maryland Live! Casino. An Anne Arundel Community College facility is close to where Gomez was found.

In a statement, Arundel Mills said it was “among the most protected environments in Anne Arundel County” and while police indicated there was no ongoing threat, there was a heightened law enforcement presence at the mall throughout the weekend.

“The safety and security of our shoppers, retailers, and employees is our highest priority,” the statement read. “The Anne Arundel County Police Department indicated that this was an isolated, targeted incident in the parking lot after mall closing. We are saddened to learn that one person passed away from their injuries.”

Representatives from Cinemark and the Live! Casino did not respond to requests for comment Monday.

Then, approximately 9:45 p.m., Friday, Anne Arundel Police officers responded to a robbery in the Costco parking lot. There, a man said he was approached by an unidentified man asking for money. When he tried to give him cash, the other man forcefully took it from him. Police said a brief struggle took place before the robber fled.

The Costco near Arundel Mills is about a half mile from the Cinemark parking lot. Police have not indicated the crimes are connected.

Despite concerns over events this weekend and in recent years, including a panic in 2022 when a man accidentally fired a gun in the Arundel Mills food court, Smith said the county government has been proactive in its efforts to maintain safety around the mall.

Last year, the council and County Executive Steuart Pittman supported the establishment of the police department’s Real-Time Information Center (RTIC), a constant surveillance tool similar to a 911 dispatch center, Smith said. Limansky said Monday the police department is hiring a unit to work to advance public safety. He declined to comment further on RTIC because it is still being developed.

“I think this will deter criminal activity around the area,” Smith said.

Despite these efforts, the council member pointed to Anne Arundel’s need to hire more police recruits, something the county has struggled with.

Though a 2019 FBI analysis signaled a potential need for 1,364 officers, the county is budgeted for 809 positions, a number it has yet to reach.

In January, the Capital Gazette reported on the department’s plan to reassign 62 officers, many in highly trained or specialized roles, to patrol shifts. The controversial plan was soon reduced by more than half.

Limansky said the department currently employs 770 officers, 26 of whom are recruits in its police academy.

In a statement Monday, county spokesperson Renesha Alphonso said the safety and security of residents and visitors “are our top priorities,” and that the government remains “committed to supporting any initiatives that strength safety across the county.”

Alphonso declined to comment on specific security procedures at the mall, which is owned by a private company, the Simon Property Group.

In addition to its own security and patrol force, earlier this month, Arundel Mills became the fourth mall in the region to restrict unaccompanied minors following several high-profile crimes at the Towson Town Center and a fatal shooting at The Mall in Columbia.