UPDATE: Police release identities of men arrested after car was stolen, damaged by gunfire
UPDATE 1/2: Michael Shields has been charged with assault and armed criminal action.
According to the probable cause statement, Shields was the friend of the stolen vehicle’s owner.
The owner of the car said she was in one of the Welcome Inn rooms when she and Shields saw the car being stolen.
A witness told police after the shooting, Shields hid the gun under a bed before police arrived on scene.
UPDATE 1/1: Columbia police said they arrested Michael Shields, 38, in reference to the shooting.
Police said the investigation revealed that Shields fired multiple rounds at a vehicle that was being stolen in the parking lot of the Welcome Inn.
Officers said the car had been idling in the lot when Matthew Moore, 39, entered the vehicle and began driving off.
Police found the car and Moore in the 600 block of Vandiver and Moore was arrested. He faces possible charges of tampering in the first degree.
Officers said that Shields is a convicted felon at was arrested at the Welcome Inn. He faces possible charges of armed criminal action, unlawful for certain people to posses firearms and assault.
ORIGINAL STORY 12/31: One person is in custody after a shooting outside the Welcome Inn on North Providence Road, according to a lieutenant with the Columbia Police Department.
Officers were called to the area around 7 p.m. Sunday where they found shell casings.
Lt. Matt Stephens said a car was stolen from the Welcome Inn and was pulled over nearby on Vandiver Drive. Stephens said the car had been hit by gunfire and the driver, who allegedly stole the car, was taken into custody.
A second car was pulled over in the area, but Stephens said at this time it’s unclear how it is involved in the incident.
Right now, there are no reported injuries from the gunfire. Stephens said officers are working to determine who fired the gun.
ABC 17 News will continue to update this story as more information becomes available. Live report at 9 on FOX 22 and at 10 on KMIZ.
