Statement: Shots fired at Harris funeral began with fight
UPDATE: Cosey is still being held in the Boone County Jail without bond.
ORIGINAL STORY: New court documents indicate that dozens of shots fired at Christian Fellowship Church on Saturday afternoon were the result of a fight between two people.
Columbia police arrested John Cosey Jr., 18, just a few hours after the incident at a funeral. Witnesses told police that someone fired at least seven shots right outside the church, sending people running and screaming from the funeral.
The funeral was being held for Ahmonta Harris, who was killed Nov. 24 during what the Boone County Sheriff’s Department called a home invasion robbery.
According to court documents, officers discovered a fight was happening just outside the entry doors of the church. An “unknown subject” punched Cosey and as that assault was happening, Cosey pulled a gun from his waistband and fired seven rounds toward the assailant, police said in a probable cause statement.
There were about 50 to 75 people in the vicinity when Cosey fired, the statement said. Police said he left the scene immediately after he fired the shots.
The church posted a statement Saturday on its Facebook page saying it was hosting the funeral because of the expected large turnout and was saddened by the incident.
“Our prayers are with the family and we will continue to pray for and work toward peace in our community,” the church said in a statement posted on its Facebook page.
Cosey admitted in a police interrogation to firing his gun “in the direction” of the person who hit him, according to the statement. He told police he didn’t see anyone else with a deadly weapon.
Prosecutors charged Cosey with unlawful use of a weapon, but indicate in court documents that this is an ongoing investigation and they anticipate more charges.
The state requested a $250,000 cash-only bond with the conditions that Cosey not go near the church, not possess or consume drugs and not possess any firearms or weapons. He was in the Boone County Jail on Monday morning without bond pending a court appearance set for Monday afternoon.
No lawyer was listed for Cosey in online court records.
