NEW DETAILS: Two people shot in Columbia home invasion
Columbia Police are investigating an armed home invasion and shooting that happened late Wednesday night in the 300 block of Dorothy Dean Drive.
Bryana Larimer, CPD Public Information Officer said they are now looking for two to four male suspects who forced their way into a home and shot two people who were upstairs at the time. A 27-year-old man and 22-year-old woman were transported to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
According to court documents, the victims told officers the three or four men who broke into their home were wearing masks.
Larimer said the department is not releasing where the forced entry was made into the home on Dorothy Dean Drive.
Larimer also added it is unclear what caused the break-in to turn into a shooting.
The duplex is connected to another residence next door and bullets did travel through the wall and into the second residence. No one was hurt in that second home.
“One thing that was beneficial was that the residents of this home had a home security system and that is what then triggered the law alarm,” Larimer said. “So that was the only way we were contacted at that point.”
Several neighbors tell ABC 17 News they didn’t hear the gunshots.
Erin Bennett said she was out with her roommates Wednesday night and when they returned home they saw several police vehicles outside of the house where the shooting occurred.
“Nothing has ever happened out here before. It’s a really quiet neighborhood and I’ve always felt really safe here,” she said. “I know there’s a string of break-ins, but they’ve never come here before. It’s always been really safe. We leave our door unlocked so it’s never been a concern before.”
This is the fourth armed home invasion in Columbia since August 28. The most recent happened Monday night in the 1900 block of Arlene Drive when two male suspects broke into the home with guns and demanded money.
“I can’t speculate on trends right now,” said Bryana Larimer, CPD Public Information Officer. “I will say that I’ve seen more incidents recently of home invasions than I’ve seen in the whole year that I’ve been here.”
Bennett said she and her roommates are going to be more cautious from now on.
“We’re definitely going to start locking the doors, windows and everything now,” she said. “We’re not going to mess around with that anymore.”
Once the scene was cleared from the shooting, a search warrant was served for the home where the break-in occurred.
Detectives worked into the early morning hours collecting evidence inside the home.
ABC 17 News received court documents of the search warrant inventory list. Inside the home police found 13 various size shell casings and other drug paraphernalia items. They also found two guns along with ammunition.
