Columbia Police Department works to decrease crime this homecoming weekend

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

On Saturday, The University of Missouri defeated the South Carolina Gamecocks in its homecoming game, which drew in a large crowd to Columbia.

In order to accommodate for the extra people, the Columbia Police Department increased its law enforcement presence in Downtown Columbia Saturday evening into Sunday morning.

Students who celebrated downtown told ABC 17 News that they saw an increase in officers.

"We tailgated on the Phi Psi lawn and the first thing I saw was a policeman so that was awesome, makes you feel safe," said MU student Maggie Peak.

Columbia has a history of crime occurring during the university's homecoming in the last two years. This includes a downtown shooting in 2022 that left three people injured. Christian Tabak with CPD said the department did take this into consideration when preparing for Saturday.

"We are acutely aware of those incidents that have happened the last two times," Tabak said. "And we have made efforts to, in our operation plans, to consider what's the most effective use of our first multipliers and really do our best to keep an eye on safety procedures."

Recent graduate Gillian Conners said during her time attending the university, she witnessed multiple shootings near her apartment. Due to this, Conners said she felt safe celebrating downtown Saturday night knowing more officers would be present, but that she understands incidents can still occur.

"I've had shootings around right by my apartment, so it's nice to see all of the law enforcement around," Conners said. "I think it's one of those things where you kind of just have to see what happens. You know even with the law enforcement, it's kind of like you don't really know what's going to happen."

Peak said while the recent shootings that occurred over the past two years' homecoming weekends are concerning, she believes CPD constantly does everything they can to keep people safe.

"I personally feel like I've never felt unsafe going out in Columbia," Peak said. "I would definitely say there is a fear, but I feel like in America today you're gonna feel fear." 

According to the Columbia Police Dispatch log, officers responded to multiple incidents throughout the night of MU's 2022 homecoming. A few of those incidents include a shots heard call, multiple disturbances and an assault, in addition to the shooting previously mentioned.

Efforts began Saturday morning, when a parade kicked-off celebrations.

An ABC 17 News reporter saw the Columbia Police Department, University of Missouri officers and the Missouri State Highway Patrol monitoring the event.

This is something Allan Burger, a person who attended the parade said he found comforting.

"I think with all the craziness going on in the world today you know its nice to see that at least they’re aware, especially considering what happened last year, Burger said. "Wanting to correct the problem and or at least, you know, have a presence here so yeah I think its fine.”

As of Saturday night, there were no known incidents that occurred in the downtown area.