Documents: Douglass Park shooter carried a rifle

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Witnesses told police they saw the person who shot a man in the leg Friday in central Columbia carrying a rifle in Douglass Park.

When police found him, the teenager arrested in connection with the shooting admitted to firing a gun in the air but not to shooting at anyone, according to a probable cause statement.

Columbia police arrested Gerrod Taylor, 19, on Zinnia Drive after the shooting at Douglass Park. Witnesses told police they saw several men walking into the park from across Providence Road and that Taylor had a rifle, according to the probable cause statement.

A 33-year-old man was shot in the femur, police say. The victim told police he was playing basketball and heard someone mention people with guns, according to the probable cause statement. The man said he tried to get away but he was shot in the leg first.

Police say they found about 40 spent shell casings at the scene.

Taylor allegedly admitted to police that he was at the park and had fired his gun in the air. Taylor also told officers he had been smoking marijuana, according to the statement.

Taylor's gun is a Ruger rifle that could fire .223-caliber ammunition, police said. The casings found at the scene were also .223-caliber, according to the statement.

Taylor has been charged with first-degree assault and armed criminal action. He was in Boone County Jail on Monday without bond.

An initial hearing in his case was set for Monday afternoon.

He did not have a lawyer listed in online court records.