Assault charge filed against Columbia man accused of firing shots downtown

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A 20-year-old Columbia man is now charged with first-degree assault in addition to other felonies in connection with an incident Aug. 9 in which gunshots were fired in public downtown.

Prosecutors added the charge against Tavan Williams-Patrick on Friday, dropping a fourth-degree assault charge. Williams-Patrick was initially charged Aug. 10, accused of firing shots near Ninth and Walnut streets in downtown Columbia. He is also charged with two counts of armed criminal action, unlawful use of a weapon and illegally firing a gun, a misdemeanor.

A new complaint filed in the case states that Williams-Patrick shot at "Victim 1" in an attempt to kill him or cause serious injury.

According to a probable cause statement, Columbia police officers were working a separate incident near Ninth and Walnut around 1:13 a.m. Aug. 9 when they heard three to four gunshots coming from west of the intersection. The statement says the shots were heard in proximity to several officers.

An officer allegedly saw Williams-Patrick put a gun down on the sidewalk in front of a bar. Other officers also found .40-caliber ammunition in the area.

In 2022, Boone County prosecutors accused Williams-Patrick, who was 16 at the time, and three other teenagers of taking part in a shooting that killed a teen girl on McKee Street. Charges were dropped last year.