Police to arrest suspect in Columbia standoff after treatment

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Columbia police took a man to get medical treatment after a standoff in central Columbia on Tuesday morning.

The man, who barricaded himself in an apartment and shot a gun, will be arrested on suspicion of armed criminal action, unlawful use of a weapon, drug possession and being a felon with a gun after he is released from treatment, the Columbia Police Department said in a news release.

Police did not name the suspect.

Police said officers responded to Oak Towers in the 700 block of Garth Avenue around 5:40 a.m. for a report of a "verbal disturbance."

Police said there are no injuries after the suspect was taken into custody shortly before 9 a.m.

Tony Barnes who lives at Oak Towers says this morning police officers were banging on his door forcing him to evacuate his apartment.

"At four o'clock this morning they were beating on my door and told me I had to evacuate the building because there was a shooting up there and that's all I know have they heard three shots and someone had some hostages up there," Barnes said.

Barnes also said it took police hours to clear the scene and that's exactly how long he waited for his cue to return back to his apartment.

"Luckily it was not cold. That's a good thing about it, but we were out there for a while they made coffee and everything," said Barnes.  

Boone County Joint Communications sent an alert out around 6:15 a.m. that Worley Street and Garth Avenue were closed due to the incident. An ABC 17 News crew at the scene saw at least 10 police cruisers in the area around Oak Tower, which primarily houses low-income seniors.

A spokesperson for the Columbia Housing Authority said all of the residents were safe and accounted for.

Ridgeway Elementary School families were asked to drop off their students at Jefferson Middle School, according to Columbia Public Schools. A spokeswoman said a little before 9:30 a.m. that school buses took Ridgeway Elementary students back to the school once the police scene cleared. The school isn't involved in the incident.

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But not all residents who live around Garth Avenue were notified of the incident. Donna Clayborn lives just seconds from Oak Towers Apartment and she says she never got an alert about shots being fired in her neighborhood.

"Bullets have no names. They can go through walls, windows, or whatever and we didn't know what was going on. Anyone could have been killed," said Clayborn.

In response to residents being notified about the incident, Columbia Police Department spokesman, Jeff Pitts said, "The residents of Oak Towers were immediately notified of the situation due to them being in close proximity to the incident. Additionally, the administration of Ridgeway Elementary was notified as the window of the subject's residence was in a direct line of sight of the school. To sum it up, anyone that was in possible danger was immediately notified. 
We did not find it appropriate to awaken and startle community members in the early morning hours as they were not in danger as the incident was contained by police evidenced by the information in the press release."

ABC 17 also spoke to Randy Cole, Chief Executive Officer for Columbia Housing authority in regards to the response to firearms in an apartment building. CHA says policy aligns with federal, state and local laws that allow for the lawful possession of firearms if a citizen meets the federal requirements to own a firearm.  CHA staff continues to work with CPD and other local partners.