Columbia city officials, police, bar & business owners will meet after multiple downtown shootings

After the second weekend in a row with shots fired incidents in downtown Columbia, Mayor Treece said the Chief of Police, MUPD, City Manager, downtown anchor tenants, bar and business owners will meet Monday, Aug 5 to discuss solutions.

“We need to make sure we are on top of this violence,” Treece said. “It only gets worse when students come back to town and we have a greater density and more alcohol use.”

Many downtown property owners are concerned about downtown. Treece said the main priority is safety.

Officers from the Columbia Police Department told Treece people walk around downtown with weapons in plain sight.

“People have an open carry weapon or even an AR-15 strapped across their chest,” Treece said. “People are smoking marijuana on the sidewalk, people are mixing drinks on the tailgate of their cars.”

He said these are “obvious ordinance violations” which need enforcement.

The violence puts law enforcement at risk. Treece said one shooting happened within ten feet of a downtown police officer.

The shots fired early Saturday, Aug 4 shattered windows of Midici’s Pizza on 10th Street and Broadway Boulevard.

This intersection is the same location of a shots fired incident on July 29. A man suffered a non life-threatening gun shot wound after shots were fired near 10th and Broadway.

Police responded on July 29 to a shots fired incident on Williams Street and Walnut.