Columbia police make arrest in downtown shooting

Columbia police have made an arrest in the downtown shooting that happened on June 15.

Officers arrested Eric Cravens, 20, of Columbia for the shooting that injured three people at the intersection of Broadway and 10th Street. Police made the arrest around 4 p.m. Wednesday after a “determined and methodical investigation.”

Cravens was arrested after police officers stopped him at 3500 Clark Lane.

Cravens was arrested and charged with with three counts of first-degree assault and one count of armed criminal action.

His bond has been set at $300,000.

Earlier Wednesday afternoon, Columbia Police Chief said the shooting was gang-related.

But police do not believe the shooting is correlated to any other shootings that have taken place in Columbia over the last two weeks.

Business owners and shop workers are relieved the shooter is in custody but frustrated the shooting happened in the first place.

“To me it kind of proves the point that the problem isn’t the people coming out of bars. It’s not the 21 and up people,” said Justin Conrad, owner of Nash Vegas bar.

As bar owner in downtown Columbia for only two months, Conrad noticed things that he didn’t notice before.

“When school is in session, it seems that there are a bunch of cops and stuff. Now being down here without schools in session, the cops disappear and then the crime shows,” Conrad said.

The night manager at Jimmy John’s, Rebecca Hill, says she thinks the rate of violence and shootings has gone up but with the arrest of one shooter tonight, feels safer on the cities streets.

“I feel a lot safer not that the guy who is off the streets, the guy who could’ve – well is dangerous you know he has proven that.