Mizzou leader declares ‘crime crisis’ after shooting. Will guns be discussed?
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- UM System president calls crime in Columbia a crisis after fatal shooting downtown
- University and city officials diverge on emphasizing enforcement vs. gun control
- Shooting spotlighted Missouri’s loose gun laws and reignited statewide safety debate
After a fatal shooting on the morning of homecoming, the University of Missouri’s top leader declared that crime in Columbia, home to the state’s flagship university, had reached a crisis point.
UM System President Mun Choi immediately sent a blistering letter to Columbia Mayor Barbara Buffaloe, demanding policy changes and threatening to involve Missouri’s Republican governor.
He called for more police downtown, elimination of policies “that attract criminals to the region” and a cleanup of homeless encampments.
But Choi’s letter, and a follow-up briefing with reporters on Monday, sidestepped one issue that has long plagued officials in Missouri and across the country: gun control.
“I believe that we need to enforce laws that we have,” Choi said when asked by The Star whether Missouri should enact stricter gun laws in response to the shooting.
The shooting in downtown Columbia just hours before the popular homecoming parade has renewed a protracted dispute over violent crime and gun violence. Its proximity to the University of Missouri has now forced university leaders to wade into the politically-charged debate.
Columbia Police have charged one suspect, 23-year-old Florida resident Misael Covarrubias. Police allege that Covarrubias was in an argument and fired several shots into a crowd just before 2 a.m. on Saturday, striking three people who were not involved in the altercation.
Aiyanna Williams, a student at nearby Stephens College, later died from her injuries.
Gun violence in Missouri
The fatal shooting has deepened ongoing fractures in Missouri over the state’s approach to gun violence. Blue-leaning cities, such as Columbia, Kansas City and St. Louis, have pushed for stricter gun laws but have faced fierce resistance from Republicans in Jefferson City.
In 2022, The Star revealed that a rise in gun violence in Columbia echoed a trend across the state of Missouri, which at the time had the fifth highest gun homicide rate nationwide.
That push-and-pull has often forced officials to walk a fine line of calling for change but stifling talk of gun control. Choi did not directly answer when asked about stricter gun laws, but emphasized a need for stronger enforcement to the state’s current laws.
“The person that…shot the young lady and two other individuals, that was a lawless person,” Choi told The Star. “The law did not stop that person. But what we need to know is what kind of repercussions are there going to be? And there has to be severe repercussions so that criminals know that this region, the state of Missouri, takes its laws very seriously.”
Advocates for stricter gun control laws have often cited Missouri as having among the loosest firearm regulations in the country. State law allows people to carry concealed weapons without a permit and cities and counties are also severely restrained in their power to set their own regulations.
Columbia response
Columbia’s mayor, in a letter responding to Choi, emphasized that she took the shooting seriously, saying that the city and its police have been “actively addressing” public safety through increased officer patrols downtown.
Buffaloe said she welcomed support from Missouri and the university but requested that involvement be coordinated with the city’s police chief. The letter then pointed directly at Missouri’s gun laws.
“I also believe we must confront systemic issues that contribute to violence,” Buffaloe wrote in the letter.
“I would like to engage our state legislators in a conversation about gun control, since many of these incidents involve firearms—including individuals illegally in possession of them,” the letter said. “This is an area where state-level action could provide crucial support to our local efforts.”
In a Facebook post on Saturday, Buffaloe said she would create a task force of city, county, university, business and community leaders “to address safety in a comprehensive and coordinated way.”
The shooting in Columbia laid bare simmering disputes across the country over gun violence at or near college campuses, major travel destinations for fans, alumni and parents of students. Columbia is not the only nearby college town that has felt the effects of shootings.
In 2017, a fatal shooting that killed three and injured two rocked Lawrence, Kansas, the home of the University of Kansas. Three individuals were charged and sentenced in connection to that shooting.
