Florida man accused of shooting 3 in downtown Columbia
Haley Swaino
EDITOR’S NOTE: Part of a quote has been removed because of its graphic nature.
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
A Florida man is accused of shooting three people early Saturday morning in downtown Columbia.
According to a Saturday afternoon press release from Columbia Police, Misael Covarrubias, 23, of Fellsmere, Florida was arrested on charges of three counts of first-degree assault, three counts of armed criminal action and unlawful use of a weapon. Covarrubias is accused of shooting a man and two women.
One of the women suffered life-threatening injuries in the shooting, the release says.
Police say Covarrubias was involved in an argument near Ninth Street and fired a gun off multiple times toward the people he was arguing with. The three people who were shot were in the 1000 block of East Broadway and were not involved in the argument, according to the release.
CPD spokesman Brian Mcneil told an ABC 17 News reporter on scene that all three people were taken to a hospital by ambulance.
At 1:51 a.m. an MU alert was sent out letting people know of the investigation and to stay away from the area.
After a man was arrested, CPD said there was no threat to the public.
Columbia Mayor Barbara Buffaloe posted on social media Saturday afternoon in response to the shooting, saying she plans to create a task force of city, county, university, and business leaders to address downtown safety.
An ABC 17 News reporter saw police tape up on East Broadway from the intersection of North Tenth Street to North Eighth Street.
At least eight Columbia police vehicles, two Boone County sheriff vehicles, and one MU ambulance were seen near the corner of East Broadway and North Tenth Street around 2 a.m. A Columbia police investigation van arrived on scene around 2:20 a.m.
ABC 17 News spoke to a witness at the scene shortly after arriving who said they were at a hotdog stand when they heard gunshots.
“You heard a tire screech and then some shots rang out,” Christian Barger said. “Me and the guys inside the stand ducked behind it and we’re hiding and bullets were whizzing by my face.”
Barger said he believed it was a drive-by shooting.
“We think we’re all good then a girl from the other side of the stand started screaming saying something about her friend,” Barger said.
Crime scene tape came down at around 7 a.m.