Man charged after downtown Columbia shooting leads to arrest

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Columbia man was charged Monday with two felonies after he was arrested in the aftermath of a downtown shooting, though he is not accused of firing shots.

Demarquen T. Allen, 28, was charged with unlawful use of a weapon and armed criminal action. He was arrested after a shooting early Saturday near Eighth and Walnut streets in downtown Columbia -- an area University of Missouri President Mun Choi has warned students to stay away from.

Charging documents say that Allen admitted to having a gun and brandishing it after he heard shots ring out in an alley. A surveillance camera at The Blue Note captured Allen pointing the gun, then tucking it back into his clothing and running, according to the probable cause statement.

Allen is not accused of firing the gun.

The victim told police she was walking on the north side of Walnut Street when she was shot in the back. The bullet exited on the right side of her chest, according to the statement.

The woman suffered life-threatening injuries, police said Saturday, but was stable at a hospital.

Officers found six guns and the clothing that Allen was seen wearing in the security video at his Eastwood Drive apartment, according to the statement.

It wasn't clear Monday morning whether police had arrested the suspected shooter.

Allen remained in the Boone County Jail without bond on Monday.

The area around Eighth and Broadway has been under scrutiny since high-profile events led Choi to write a message asking students to avoid that area at night because of crime.