City of Columbia to discuss new violence prevention office at Wednesday event at elementary school

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The City of Columbia is hosting its monthly Let’s Talk Local discussion on Wednesday, featuring Ward 3 Council Member Jacque Sample to talk about the city’s new Office of Violence Prevention.  

The discussion will take place in the Benton Elementary School cafeteria from 5:30-7 p.m. It’s the latest of a series of monthly “Let’s Talk Local” discussions that began in January. 

Wednesday’s discussion will feature D’Markus Thomas-Brown, who was named the Office of Violence Prevention administrator in March. According to the city, Brown will discuss the role the office will play in working with law enforcement and community partners to address community violence.

Ward 3 -- which makes up a large portion of northeast Columbia -- has seen a high volume of police traffic in recent years, especially in the areas of Ballenger Lane, Clark Lane and Rice Road. According to Columbia Police Department dispatch logs, police have been dispatched to Clark Lane 1087 times from Jan. 1-May 4, which includes six shots heard calls, five assault calls and two shots fired calls. 

During that same stretch there have been 45 calls to Rice Road, which includes three shots fired calls, while Ballenger Lane has seen 107 calls, including one shots fired call. 

One of the most recent incidents occurred on April 13,  when 23-year-old Joshua Abrams was arrested on suspicion of assault and weapons charges after officers responded to a shooting in the 4700 block of Clark Lane, where they found multiple shell casings. 

Police claim he fired multiple shots into the ground during an argument with his girlfriend in the 4700 block of Clark Lane on May 1. According to court documents, both Abrams and his girlfriend were intoxicated at the time, and Abrams had reportedly been drinking all day.A later press release from the CPD says Abrams is also believed to be involved in a separate shooting that happened last month in the 900 block of East Broadway.

Check back for updates.