Man arrested in relation to northeast Columbia shots-fired incident claims he was defending family
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
Police say no one was hurt when shots were fired Friday morning at a house in northeast Columbia.
At least 10 Columbia police cars and a Boone Health ambulance were parked along the 1400 block of Ballenger Lane on Friday morning.
Police arrested Kyle Fisher, 24, on suspicion of unlawful use of a weapon. Officers claimed they found a stolen gun inside the house during their search.
Fisher told ABC 17 News on Friday night that he fired his gun to scare people away from his home. Fisher said he woke up just before 6 a.m. to people banging on his front door looking for a family member.
He said he tried to get the people to leave and eventually went out into the front yard with his wife and father to get them to go. Fisher claimed one of the two people there tried to attack his wife, which prompted him to fire "about three" shots into the ground.
"I never pointed my gun at anybody," Fisher said. "I shot my gun at the ground, you know, I've been with guns my whole life. I know what I'm doing when it comes to guns. But yeah, that wasn't in any means to harm anybody, shoot anybody. I was just trying to scare them off my property."
Fisher said the people quickly got into a car parked nearby and left. He said a family member then called 911 about the fight.
An ABC 17 News reporter heard police over a loudspeaker order anyone inside a home along the street to come out with their hands up. Columbia Police Department Sgt. Mark Fitzgerald later said shots were fired during a fight and five-to-10 people were at the home.
According to Boone County Joint Communications, Ballenger Lane was shut down for the police incident around 6:30 a.m. The road reopened about an hour later.
Fisher said police took him to a police holding cell before going to the Boone County Jail. He said was released on bond around 3 p.m. Fisher disputed the claim he had a stolen gun, saying he purchased his gun from a pawn shop.
Prosecutors had not charged Fisher with a crime by the end of business on Friday. Police did not immediately respond to a request for comment about Fisher's account after hours on Friday.
