Columbia’s police chief says there has been escalating gun violence downtown in the past 18 months.
Chief Jill Schlude tells 939 the Eagle’s “Wake Up Missouri” that three uninvolved bystanders have been shot in that timeframe, with numerous others put at risk:
“The shots fired or shootings incidents, so someone has been shot or we know a gun was fired, 11 times I believe over the past 18 months. So we looked at those and the vast majority of those are occurring after 1:30 in the morning. So what does that tell us? It’s not while the restaurants and bars are open,” Chief Schlude says.
A bystander was struck in the head by gunfire in June in the 800 block of Walnut. Chief Schlude also says a growing number of people have been gathering downtown not to patronize businesses but to party in the streets. The chief says that contributes to chaotic and unsafe conditions.
Chief Schlude tells listeners that eight of the 11 shootings/shots fired incidents happened after the 1:30 am bar close:
“It’s after everything is over and we’re having a lot of people hanging out downtown. And another interesting piece was what’s precipitating a lot of these incidents is large disturbances or fights. And then people are coming in with firearms,” says Schlude.
The chief says police officer presence alone has not been enough to deter violence. She notes that in three cases, officers were present during the shootings. Chief Schlude says that in one case an officer witnessed a shooting and intervened and was shot at by the suspects.
You can listen to the full “Wake Up Missouri” interview with Columbia police chief Jill Schlude here.