Suspect found after Columbia police search for person with a gun on south side of town
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
Columbia Police Department officers searched for a person with a gun near Nifong Boulevard and Buttonwood Drive in south Columbia on Thursday afternoon, with reports of at least one arrest.
MU Alert Update: ALL CLEAR. Subject taken into custody. No reported injuries. Campus operating under normal conditions. ALL CLEAR.
— MU Alert (@MUalert) March 30, 2023
MU Alert announced the scene was "all clear" and that a suspect was in custody at 2:46 p.m. Three males were also detained and one was released, according to an ABC 17 News reporter at the scene. Police found a gun in a dumpster.
MU Alert - Columbia Police are investigating subject with a gun at/near Nifong/Buttonwood Rd possibly headed southwest. Urgent. Stay away or leave the area.
— MU Alert (@MUalert) March 30, 2023
Several police vehicles and a K-9 unit were seen in the area after 2 p.m.
Vehicles were seen near The Lyfe apartment complex. Police vehicles were also seen on Cooper Drive. A reporter saw police also had long rifles out and one officer brought a shield into the complex area.
MU Alert Update: Subject is black/male/dreads/yellow-hooded sweatshirt/puffy black coat/ barefoot/late-teens/ last seen heading west toward Providence Road.
— MU Alert (@MUalert) March 30, 2023
The suspect's name and possible charges have yet to be released.
This search occurs after Columbia experienced several shootings within a 24-hour span.
Columbia police on Tuesday responded to shootings outside a north Columbia strip mall and at the Links apartment located on Clark Lane. On Wednesday, at least 10 Columbia police department officers responded to another shooting outside of a north Columbia gas station. Three people were injured in that shooting.
CPD spokesman Christian Tabak told ABC 17 News that the situation leading to Thursday's arrest began as a possible investigation into Wednesday's shooting. The person was arrested, however, on unrelated charges.
The name of the individual who was arrested has not been released.
There has been a recent uptick in shots-fired reports in Columbia. March leads 2023 with 13 calls to Columbia Police Dispatch, according to online records. January had nine calls, while February had six. That total for calls is still lower than this point last year, which saw 17 in January, 10 in February and 11 in March.
