COLUMBIA, Md. — Shots rang out at a popular shopping mall in this suburb between Washington and Baltimore on Saturday morning, sending shoppers running from stores and hiding under tables in the food court.

When police officers arrived, they found three people dead inside a skate shop on the upper level of the two-story center, the Mall in Columbia. Two of the victims were a young man and woman who worked at the store. The body of another man, who is suspected of being the attacker, was found near the victims with a shotgun and ammunition nearby, police officials said. The man is believed to have committed suicide, they said.

Five other people had minor injuries — most of them suffered as they fled after hearing the gunshots — and were released from a hospital on Saturday evening after receiving treatment. The shootings at the Mall in Columbia set off fears in the area as residents waited to hear from loved ones and concern across the country over thoughts of yet another mass killing.

But at a news conference held about two hours after the initial gunshots, the county police chief, William J. McMahon, said he believed the shootings were an isolated episode involving just the three people who were found dead. “To our knowledge, all the activity took place at one time, in one store,” Chief McMahon said.