Police suspect stolen gun used to shoot at Columbia officers

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Columbia police say they found several stolen guns after a chase that included shots fired at officers early Thursday.

Police suspect the gun used to fire at officers was one of the stolen weapons.

The shooting, in which a police cruiser was damaged, happened after officers tried to stop a stolen vehicle they saw sitting in the road without headlights, according to court documents. The vehicle, a Jeep Compass, crashed into a tree at Ash and Orr streets after a brief chase.

Officers arrested Anthony Stapleton, 18, and detained three juveniles. Prosecutors have charged Stapleton with first-degree assault, armed criminal action, stealing a firearm and tampering with a vehicle.

A probable cause statement in Stapleton’s case says officers found a gun on Stapleton when they arrested him after the crash. Police say three of the four guns they found had been stolen and that Stapleton admitted to shooting a stolen gun at police.

Stapleton told officers the shooting was an accident, according to the statement. Stapleton told officers he had been sitting in the front passenger seat, where police found shell casings, according to the statement.

Stapleton was scheduled to be arraigned Friday afternoon, according to online court records. He is in the Boone County Jail without bond.

No lawyer was listed for Stapleton in online court records.