A shooting at a Columbia gas station Saturday struck multiple cars with children inside and left one adult victim with a gunshot wound to the arm. The two children were not harmed during the shooting.
The Columbia Police Department got a call at about 7:30 p.m. Saturday of shots fired at Midwest Petroleum at the intersection Rangeline Street and Interstate 70, CPD spokeswoman Jill Wieneke said. Multiple shots were fired, one of which hit a 28-year-old victim’s upper arm.
The victim remained conscious and breathing during the incident, Wieneke said. He was transported to the hospital. The bullets struck multiple cars, including the victim’s. A small child was inside the car at the time of the shooting, but was unharmed.
A 6-year-old girl was inside another car that was struck by the bullets, but was also unharmed.
“Right next to the gas station, there’s actually a little apartment building where a lot of veterans live,” Wieneke said. “They came out and started giving him first aid.”
CPD has not yet identified a suspect, but has a rough description of a black passenger car. A motive for the shooting has not yet been determined.
“Detectives have been called in,” Wieneke said. “They are going to try to interview the victim and any witnesses to try to get more suspect information. A lot of that is forensic evidence, any kind of DNA or fingerprints that we can get off shell casing.”
After the shooting, Rangeline was shut down south of Business Loop 70 for the crime scene. It reopened shortly after 9 p.m.
“I wish they were less common,” Wieneke said, in reference to the number of shootings that have occurred. “We certainly aren’t experiencing the levels that Kansas City and St. Louis do, but for a town this size we do have our fair share.”