Boone County prosecutor speaks on Blair’s Law following Monday night shots-fired scene in west Columbia
COLUMBIA Mo. (KMIZ)
As the Columbia Police Department continues to investigate a shots-fired scene on Claudell Lane late Monday night, ABC 17 News spoke with the Boone County Prosecutor about a new law that could factor into charges for the incident.
Columbia police said on Tuesday that no one is in custody for Monday’s scene in the 1000 block of Claudell Lane. Shell casings were found and damage was seen on buildings and cars, police wrote in a Tuesday press release. No injuries have been reported.
SB 754, better known as Blair's Law, went into effect on Aug. 28. The law makes unlawfully and recklessly firing a gun within the boundaries of a municipality a punishable offense.
“Blair's Law was passed in 2024, it applies to shooting a firearm within the city limits, so it's either recklessly shooting a firearm into the city limits or while you're inside the city limits," Boone County Prosecutor Roger Johnson said.
Claudell Lane is within Columbia city limits.
Johnson said in addition to shooting a gun, there must be something reckless about the way the gun was shot.
"For it to be reckless, the person would have to know that what they're doing is causing a risk," Johnson said. "For the most part, I think people would know that if they're shooting a firearm, that's a dangerous activity. But we have to be able to prove that they know it's dangerous and that they're doing it anyway."
If a person violates Blair's Law once, they will be given a class A misdemeanor. If a person does it twice, they will receive and class E Felony, which is punishable for up to four years in the Department of Corrections. A third offense, the charge will be a class D felony which is punishable for up to seven years.
Johnson says the Boone County Prosecutor's office has not gotten any referrals for Blair's law violations since it went into effect.
