Columbia manhunt unrelated to recent shootings
A north Columbia neighborhood is still on edge after an early morning chase involving a driver who ran from police.
After a large police presence was seen in the area, ABC 17 News checked in with police to see if any of the incidents are connected.
Just before 10:00 p.m. A Columbia police officer was near the corner of Shamrock and Sandrock Road when a car was speeding through the neighborhood and nearly hit the police cruiser.
ABC 17 News was the only station at the very active scene as the manhunt was getting underway for John Williamson.
Williamson ran from police after he jumped out of his car.
We’re finding some stories don’t add up though. Our crews were on the scene for nearly two hours as city, county, and state authorities closed off entrance and exit ramps to Highway 63.
All roads in and out of the neighborhood were closed off.
On Friday, Columbia Police told us Williamson was taken into custody within 30 minutes.
Despite the nearly two dozen police cruisers in the area, and a massive search of the neighborhood, Williamson is facing charges of leaving the scene of an accident, resisting arrest, driving without a license, along with speeding and careless driving.
We’ve seen two shootings in Columbia in the past few weeks, and those suspected gunmen are still on the loose.
We reached out to police Friday asking for updates on Louis Green and Lonnie Cunningham. We asked if authorities converged on the scene Thursday night thinking this incident could be related to one of those alleged shooters.
It was a double shooting on Peachtree Drive near Nifong and Providence where two victims received non-life threatening injuries.
Columbia Police believe the shooter is 23-year-old Lonnie Cunningham.
Cunningham is still on the run and wanted on two counts of assault.
Authorities are still looking for 20-year-old Louis Green. He’s accused of shooting 4 people at the Columbia VFW last weekend.
We reached out to law enforcement Friday to see if they thought Thursday night’s incident was related to either of these two shooters, they told us the large police presence was routine.
