28-year-old man arrested in connection with ‘mass casualty’ shooting in Columbia
A 28-year-old man has been arrested in connection with a shooting in Columbia that left five wounded by gunfire early Sunday morning. Another suspect was killed at the scene by the responding officers.
Todd Duron Nesbitt was arrested Sunday afternoon on charges of armed criminal action and assault in the first degree and is being held on bond at Boone County Jail.
Officers were managing crowds around 3 a.m. on Sunday when they heard gunshots outside of Vibez lounge on North 5th, according to police. Two men were seen by officers “exchanging gunfire,” one of whom, now identified as Nesbitt, ran from the scene.
Nesbitt was identified with the community’s help, Columbia Police Chief Geoff Jones said in a statement on Monday
The conditions of the five other shooting victims were stable, as of Sunday morning. Their names have not been released as of Monday afternoon.
The man killed by officers has also not been publicly identified.
The Missouri State Highway Patrol is investigating the police shooting.
The shooting came less than two days after the Columbia Police Department released a statement to make the public aware of increased foot patrols inside and outside of downtown businesses, in an effort to “address violence in the downtown area.”
The department has been working with the Downtown Community Improvement District and the University of Missouri to address violence in the area, according to the release.
The university, and its campus police department, is working in tandem with other law enforcement agencies in the area to address the issue, said Christian Basi, the school’s director of the media relations.
Jones and Mayor Brian Treece addressed community questions about the incident, as well as gun violence in the city, at a press conference Sunday morning.
“It concerns me deeply that I have to speak about a mass casualty in Columbia, Missouri,” Jones said.
Treece noted in the press conference Sunday that there have been five reported shootings at the lounge and nearby.
According to data from the Missouri Highway Patrol, the police department has reported 322 non-fatal incidents involving firearms so far this year. In 2020, the department reported 374.
There were 11 fatal firearm related incidents reported in the department’s jurisdiction last year and four so far this year.