Author: KMIZ

Alison Patton

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Missouri politicians and leaders have posted on social media following shots fired at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner on Saturday night.

An armed suspect was rushed a security checkpoint before shots were fired, according to CNN. President Donald Trump and his cabinet are safe, and authorities have arrested a 30-year-old California man.

President Trump addressed the nation, which can be watched here.

Gov. Mike Kehoe posted on Facebook saying he was grateful President Donald Trump and his cabinet are safe.

Claudia and I are grateful for the safety of President and First Lady Trump, Vice President Vance, members of the Cabinet, and all those who attended tonight’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner.

We are thankful for the quick response of the U.S. Secret Service and law…

— Governor Mike Kehoe (@GovMikeKehoe) April 26, 2026

Rep. Mark Alford (R) posted to X, asking his constituents to pray for the country.

Leslie and I are praying for President Trump and his safety… once again.

Please lift our President up in prayer. Lift our nation up in prayer. May we all unify in condemning political violence and bringing civility, respect and decorum back to political arena.

God, heal our…

— Mark Alford 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸 (@markalfordkc) April 26, 2026

Rep. Sam Graves (R) thanked law enforcement for their role in keeping the president safe.

Grateful for the quick actions of the Secret Service and law enforcement tonight at the White House Correspondents Dinner. Thank God for protecting President Trump and all who were in attendance.

— Rep. Sam Graves (@RepSamGraves) April 26, 2026

Rep. Ann Wagner (R) published a longer X post and commented on political violence.

The political violence is appalling and must be stopped. The violent rhetoric encouraging these horrific actions has only grown worse, and everyone must fully condemn it.

We are all Americans. We can disagree, but political disagreements must never end in violence.

I am…

— Ann Wagner (@RepAnnWagner) April 26, 2026

This is an ongoing story.

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ABC 17 News Team

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Watch President Donald Trump hold a news conference with Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and FBI Director Kash Patel after shots were fired at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.

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Marie Moyer

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Cleek Family returned to the AMF Town and Country Lanes Saturday for the 23rd Annual Bowling for Autism Fundraiser for Easterseals Midwest.

The annual fundraiser raises money to help people with disabilities with physical rehabilitation, job training and meeting personal goals. Event Chairman John Cleek Jr. got started working with Easterseals after the group helped his son Thomas.

“Our youngest son, Thomas, he’s 26 now, but he has mild autism, so that’s kind of how we got started with this organization many years ago,” Cleek said. “Now we’ve just got to keep this thing going and, you know, look forward to hearing maybe ten years or so, we’ll break a million bucks.”

In previous years, the group has continually raised over $30,000.

ABC 17 News participated as both a media sponsor and a bowling team.

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Alison Patton

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Department of Justice reclassified medical marijuana from being grouped with strong, potent drugs like heroin or LSD–to a lower classification to allow for research. The reclassification could also lower medical marijuana prices for some consumers.

Dan Veits, a lawyer for the Missouri branch of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, said that rescheduling medical marijuana from a Schedule I to a Schedule III drug would allow dispensaries to deduct business expenses from their taxable income.

“Previously, those who engaged in illegal sales of cannabis, medical or non-medical, could not deduct their business expenses,” Veits said. “So, they had to pay taxes on their gross income, and that is just almost impossible to live with.”

That would make marijuana more profitable and potentially lead to lower prices because dispensaries no longer have to carry that burden.

President of the Shangri-La Dispensaries, Kepal Patel, agreed that prices could come down over time.

“The medical marijuana prices will go down because it opens up to release some of the tax burden on the retailer,” Patel said.

It only applies to medical marijuana, though.

“It’ll mean nothing to those who use non-medical marijuana,” Veits said. “It’ll still be against the law to deduct business expenses, even for those who are legally selling non-medical marijuana. So, it won’t have any impact whatsoever, at least not directly or immediately, on anyone other than medical marijuana patients.”

The reclassification of medical marijuana also opens doors for research. Patel said research on how marijuana affects people is limited because federally-funded institutions couldn’t study the drug.

“So, no new research in terms of what the effect of that and what effect marijuana has on their body, how it affects our system internally and what kind of true benefit it provides for medical patients all have been spoken about in that sense, but they have not been truly studied in a scientific viewpoint,” Patel said.

In a DOJ press release, the department said it’s also looking to reclassify recreational marijuana, and it will begin discussions in June.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Police put up crime scene tape around one of the parking lots of a southern Columbia apartment complex on Friday night.

Officers were in the parking lot of The Collective, located on Aspen Heights Parkway.

Columbia Police Department spokesman Colin Imhoff told ABC 17 News that police responded to a call of shots being fired at 8:37 p.m. No injuries were reported. Officers started leaving the scene at 9:25 p.m.

An ABC 17 News photographer saw Columbia police officers inspecting a black sedan that had damage to its back window.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Boone Health says it is moving forward with its split from Missouri Heart Center.

Boone Health spokesman Christian Basi wrote in an email on Friday that the hospital is transitioning data for thousands of patients and that three-dozen staff members and providers have been hired for the hospital’s new clinic.

Basi added that Boone Health is hoping to get the new clinic up short after May 6, the date its partnership ends with the Missouri Heart Center.

Previous reporting shows that a group of physicians from Missouri Heart notified Boone Health in March that it would be ending a more-than-decade-long partnership on Wednesday, May 6. 

Boone Health filed a lawsuit the same month accusing Missouri Heart of disclosing or misusing confidential information, including billing rates, reimbursement data, and strategic business details during its transition to new partnerships with outside organizations.

About 20,000 patients are expected to be affected.

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Ryan Shiner

COLE COUNTY, Mo. (KMIZ)

A 75-year-old woman from Villa Ridge, Missouri, was seriously injured Friday in a crash on Highway 54 at Quarry Road, an area southwest of Jefferson City, according to a crash report from the Missouri State Highway Patrol.

The report says the driver of a 2014 Chevrolet Silverado – driven by the woman – was heading westbound on Highway 54 when she tried to make a left turn. A 2005 Ford 500 – driven by a 23-year-old Stover man – rear-ended the Chevrolet, according to the report.

The crash then resulted in the Chevrolet going off the road and into the eastbound lanes, where it was hit by a 2012 Honda Pilot that was driven by a 47-year-old Jefferson City man, the report says.

The second hit caused the Chevrolet to overturn.

The woman was brought to University Hospital by ambulance. The Jefferson City man had minor injuries and was brought to St. Mary’s Hospital in a private vehicle. The Stover man had moderate injuries and was brought to Capital Regional Medical Center by ambulance, the report says.

The Jefferson City man wore a seatbelt, the Stover man did not and it is not known if the woman wore a seatbelt, the report says. All three vehicles were totaled.

MSHP reports do not name those involved in crashes.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Columbia man has been charged with first-degree assault after he allegedly attacked another man with a railroad spike on Thursday.

Colby McKee, 35, is being held at the Boone County Jail without bond. A court date has not been scheduled.

The probable cause statement says deputies were called to a Hartsburg intersection about an assault. The victim claimed they were a passenger in a vehicle. When they approached Snowy Hills Lane at Christian School Road, McKee allegedly blocked the road with his truck, pulled the victim out of the vehicle and assaulted them.

McKee allegedly punched the victim in their mouth about 10-15 times before jabbing him in his back with a railroad spike, court documents say. The deputy noted several injuries to the victim in the probable cause statement. The victim also told the deputy they lost consciousness during the attack.

Deputies interviewed McKee at his Columbia home, where he claimed he bought cigarettes at a Sunoco location with his wife, the statement says. McKee then claimed the victim and another person with the had made a rude gesture at him and he left, court documents say.

Police reviewed video where McKee allegedly talked with one of the people at the gas station, but his wife was not with him and the rude gesture was not made, the deputy wrote. The person who drove the victim allegedly told deputies that McKee had called him to tell him not to hang out with the victim, the statement says.

While speaking with McKee, the deputy noted McKee’s shirt had red and brown stains on it, but McKee allegedly told the deputy the stains were from wood staining, the statement says.

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Matthew Sanders

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Columbia Police Department has named the man it claims stabbed another man on Friday in the Benton-Stephens area.

Grant Buxton, 44, was arrested on suspicion of first-degree assault, armed criminal action and drug possession, CPD wrote in a Friday night social media post.

Earlier on Friday, Columbia police put up crime scene tape around an apartment building in the city’s Benton-Stephens area after a stabbing.

Officers were called to an assault in progress after noon in the 1600 block of Richardson Street. Police found the victim and provided them emergency care and arrested Buxton. An ABC 17 News reporter saw multiple evidence markers and about 10 police cruisers at the scene.

Police later wrote in a press release that two people were in an “altercation” and one person was stabbed.

The victim, also a man, was rushed to a hospital in critical condition.

No additional threats were reported or seen, police wrote.

Buxton was listed on the Boone County Jail roster Saturday. He is being held without bond. Charges were not filed on Saturday morning.

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Alison Patton

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Boone County jury suggested sentencing a Holts Summit woman convicted of murder to up to decades in prison on Friday.

The jury deliberated the sentence of Heather Smith, 38, on a change of venue from Callaway County. She was convicted on five criminal counts on Thursday, including felony murder.

Smith was also found guilty of three counts of unlawful use of a weapon and a count of armed criminal action.

After deliberating Friday morning, jurors came back with suggested sentences that add up to more than 41 years in prison, including 25 years for murder. The judge will decide the final sentence, and whether prison terms should be consecutive or concurrent at the sentence hearing scheduled for June 18.

The prosecutor argued that Smith shot and killed 37-year-old Kara Dills at Hunter Lane Apartments in April 2025. Smith’s attorney tried to convince the 12-member jury that Smith shot Dills in self-defense.

Smith faces a max imprisonment of four years or a max fine of $10,000 for three counts of unlawful use of a weapon. The prosecuting attorney is asking for the maximum prison sentence.

The maximum sentence for felony murder is life in prison, and prosecutors were seeking 25 to 30 years in prison.

Smith’s attorney is asking for minimum sentences.

Both attorneys gave final statements and called a few witnesses up to the stand, including Dills’ daughter and mother.

After the jury announced its decision, Dills’ daughter, Kariah Bryant, said she’s happy with outcome.

“I feel like the outcome was good on our part,” Bryant said. “I do feel for her children, well, her child Pierce, a lot. He’s the same age as my little brother, and I know in a sense, he’s losing his mother, too.”

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