Discussions ongoing about decreasing violent crime in Columbia
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
Discussions between elected officials are ongoing about how to handle a recent string of gun violence in the city.
The discussions took place at Monday's City Council meeting, where many council members shared concerns.
"We're way past the time of just discussing. It's time to put something into action where we can see true results. The data is there, the action must follow the data," Ward 3 Councilman Roy Lovelady said.
From May 1- June 6 of this year, there has been 15 shots fired calls, according to the Columbia Police Department six-hour dispatch log. Last year, in the same time frame, there were 18 calls made. Calls for shots fired at this point in the year -- compared to 2022 -- are down. There were 77 calls made through June 6 in 2022, compared to 50 so far this year.
But, there have been recent shootings in the area. Two teenagers were killed at a party this past weekend in Boone County. A woman was killed on East Tayside Circle in Columbia in late May. Columbia police have also responded to multiple calls for shots fired on Claudell Lane in the past month. And more than one person faces murder charges in relation to a May shooting in the parking lot of the now-closed Plush Lounge.
"One of the first things I think we need to do is, we need the police on the streets. They need to be able to, one, respond. Criminals need to know that is a police presence, that they're close by. And that we're not gonna. The citizens of Columbia don't want this, and we're not gonna tolerate it," Ward 5 Councilman Donald Waterman said.
