Downtown Columbia sees five shootings since late July

A shooting early Sunday near College Avenue and Ash Street was the fifth in downtown Columbia since July 29.

So far no one has been arrested in connection with those incidents, though two people did suffer injuries that were not life-threatening, including on Sunday, when a man was hit by a bullet.

The shooting Sunday near Stephens College and a large student housing complex happened at about 3 a.m., and all of the five shootings have taken place during the early morning hours. Crime stats mapped on the Lexis Nexis Community Crime Map website show the peak time for assaults with weapons in Columbia is 2 a.m. on Sundays.

The campuses of Stephens, Columbia College and the University of Missouri are all in or bordering downtown.

Devin Tarantino, an MU undergraduate student, said he’s received several emails from his apartment building warning tenants to stay safe when walking at night and to stay inside if they hear about anything suspicious.

Tarantino said he’s not worried about becoming a victim, though.

“If I was walking out at 2 o’clock in the morning, coming home from bars or coming home from restaurants or whatever, I’d probably be a little bit more nervous,” Tarantino said.

All but one of the five shootings happened between 2 and 3 a.m.

Tarantino said if he’s out that late, he plans to take an Uber instead of walking.

MU post-doctoral student Sholi Zhal said he heard only good things about Columbia before he came to MU.

“I heard it was really beautiful, peaceful and safe town,” Zhal said. He said he and his wife stay out of downtown after midnight and he hopes police make students aware of the violence.

The Columbia Police Department did not respond to requests for comment from ABC 17 News about leads or arrests in the five shootings. It is not clear whether the victim of the most recent shooting has any relationship with the shooter.