Teenager in custody after deadly Boone County shooting
Matthew Sanders
EDITOR’S NOTE: The story has been corrected to remove a reference to fighting teens being armed.
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
A 16-year-old is in custody on suspicion of taking part in a fight that led to a deadly shooting Tuesday just outside Columbia.
The teen suspect and the victim were part of groups that had met up for two youths to fight Tuesday evening in the 1300 block of North Frideriki Drive, according to a Boone County Sheriff’s Office news release. An 18-year-old man was found unresponsive and not breathing outside a home with a gunshot wound and died at the scene, the sheriff’s office says.
Juvenile authorities have charged the suspect on suspicion of second-degree murder, armed criminal action and unlawful use of a weapon. A hearing is set for 2:30 p.m. Thursday.
Frank Rae, a resident in the Valley Creek neighborhood and said an initial fight broke out around 6:30 p.m. at the corner of Frideriki Drive and Pinehurst lane. The Boone County Sheriff’s Office came and broke out the group.
About an hour later Rae said another fight broke out in front of his mailboxes.
“Two people that were sorta brawling with fists out, then there was 10,11,12 people kinda surrounding them,” Rae said.
A fight among two teenagers had broken out, with other teenagers surrounding the scene, before the shooting, according to the release. One or more guns were displayed during the fight, leading to the 18-year-old being shot and killed, the sheriff’s office says.
“A super loud crack and echo and took off out the back and I saw the victim laying out here,” Rae said.
Cpt. Brian Leer, with the sheriff’s office, said multiple people on scene were armed.
“Multiple subjects on scene, teens, were armed,” Leer said. “The 16-year-old and the 18-year-old victim were not the two that were meeting to fight, they were present during the altercation,”
The boy’s identity is being protected because he is a juvenile. However, his name could be released if the court decides to try him as an adult. The investigation is ongoing.
“This is not a complete investigation at this time, our investigators are still working today and will continue to do so to follow up on any leads.” Leer added.
The shooting drew a large police response.
An ABC 17 News reporter saw members of the Columbia Police Department, Boone County Sheriff’s Office and Missouri State Highway Patrol. Law enforcement had an intersection blocked off.
The reporter saw law enforcement with guns drawn and pointed at a home on Valley Creek Lane.
Police tape went up at 8:14 p.m. at the intersection of Clark Lane and Valley Creek Lane.
Neighbors react to recent crime in the area
Several Columbia residents told ABC 17 News that crime near the area of Clark Lane and Godas Circle is beginning to get out of hand.
Lydia Gunn has lived in Columbia at the Links Apartment Complex on Clark Lane for four years and said it seems crime of all sorts has escalated since she’s moved to the area. Gunn said she’s now reconsidering whether continuing to live on the northeastern part of town in the city is safe.
“I hear gunshots about a couple times a week, sirens every night,” Gunn said. “There’s been a couple instances where the entrance has been blocked off because people have been barricaded inside. And then we also have car break-ins that happen and have been happening the whole time I’ve lived here.”
Gunn said the growing number of “pops” she heard near her apartment led to her and others playing a “game” of whether the noises they heard were gunshots or fireworks. She said that game was short lived.
“It’s never fireworks…, so, yeah we stopped playing that game,” Gunn said.
ABC 17 News scrubbed through both the city and county’s dispatch logs to get a better look at calls to the area. Included in that search were Clark Lane, Valley Creek Lane and Godas Circle.
According to the Columbia Police Dispatch log, between Jan. 1-May 28 of this year, police received two reports of shots fired on Clark Lane, and six reports of shots heard. The remaining streets had not received calls for either of those for CPD or the sheriff’s office, according to both logs.
Since Jan. 1, police were also called to Clark Lane and neighboring streets 25 times, 21 times to Valley Creek Lane and eight times to Godas Circle for various incidents.
Dispatch logs show the sheriff’s office has been called to Godas Circle four times within the same time frame, 30 times to Clark Lane and neighboring streets and five times to Valley Creek Lane for various incidents.
Amy Luppino also lives at the Links. Luppino said she lives butted up against a neighborhood where she also frequently hears gunshots and people yelling. Luppino said something she’s noticed since living there, is the lack of working street lights.
“I don’t really go outside at night if I don’t have to,” Luppino said. “People use that walkway there, they cut through the green and people just pop up. I think some light would help. I know I’d feel a little more comfortable.”