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UM System President Mun Choi speaks during a news conference Monday at Jesse Hall. Choi referred to the shooting over the weekend, which killed a Stephens College student, as part of a \u201ccrime crisis\u201d and demanded action from the city. Other officials, including City Council members and Gov. Mike Kehoe, have also called for action. (Xiaoman An\/Columbia Missourian)<\/p>\n
University of Missouri System President Mun Choi\u2019s call for a campaign to address crime in Columbia earned support Monday but few details emerged on how it would play out.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Support ranged from Gov. Mike Kehoe to several members of the Columbia City Council and Mayor Barbara Buffaloe, who has agreed to form a community task force to address crime following the early morning incident on Saturday that left a woman dead and two wounded.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Stephens College student\u00a0Aiyanna Williams died<\/a>\u00a0Sunday at University Hospital. Williams was on East Broadway at 1:40 a.m. when a shooter fired into the crowd that she was in.<\/p>\n The criminal process began Monday for Misael Covarrubias when he made his first court appearance in connection to the shooting. He is charged with three counts of first-degree assault, three counts of armed criminal action and unlawful use of a weapon causing death or injury.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Covarrubias is being held in Boone County Jail. He has a hearing scheduled for Oct. 7 and a preliminary hearing on Nov. 6.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n In a Facebook post Monday evening, Williams\u2019 family thanked the community for support, but called for space to grieve.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cI have already asked, at my daughter\u2019s memorial, that her death not be turned into a political statement,\u201d the post said. \u201cThat request has not been respected. We are grieving our daughter. We\u2019re not furthering anyone\u2019s agenda.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cThere is a crime crisis in Columbia,\u201d Choi said during a news conference at Jesse Hall. \u201cAnd that\u2019s why I called on the mayor, the city manager and the prosecuting attorney to take immediate and long-term actions.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \t<\/p><\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n While the mayor and other top city officials were in meetings throughout the day and declined interview requests, some council members expressed support for a renewed focus on crime in response to the fatal shooting on Saturday.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Third Ward councilperson Jacque Sample said she agrees with Choi\u2019s encouragement of collaboration between the Columbia and MU Police departments to jointly patrol the city.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cI support his support of the Police Department,\u201d said Sample. \u201cWe have increased our police numbers, and I believe the chief is doing a good job of making sure that her team is where they need to be.\u201d<\/p>\n In regard to the police response on Saturday, \u201cpolice can\u2019t predict the future or the behaviors of people who choose to do bad things. Their response time was there, and they were able to immediately detain and arrest the person,\u201d Sample said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Fourth Ward Councilperson Nick Foster said increased police presence alone won\u2019t solve the issue.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cI believe that presence of law enforcement does deter some crime, but it doesn\u2019t deter all of it,\u201d Foster said. \u201cWe are not going to police our way to eliminating violent crime or crime of any kind.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The Columbia Police Department brought in additional officers on overtime pay to try and prevent shootings like the one that took place on Saturday. However, Fifth Ward Councilperson Don Waterman said that an increased police presence is helpful but won\u2019t stop every incident.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cYou could have a cop on every corner, I don\u2019t know that it\u2019s absolutely going to prevent it,\u201d Waterman said. \u201cIt\u2019s tragic.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Still, he said the increase in size the police force has seen over the past few years is positive.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201c(Columbia Police) Chief (Jill) Schlude said in her budget request that she\u2019d like to see 50 new officers over the next few years,\u201d Waterman said. \u201cIt\u2019s not gonna stop it completely, but I believe it would maybe give some individuals pause.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Sample said the city is making strides toward increasing police presence downtown.<\/p>\n \u201cI do think that there\u2019s certain times that we do need additional police officers in certain spaces such as downtown, and they\u2019re working on tracking those trends and putting people in places where they need to be,\u201d Sample said.<\/p>\n Choi, Schlude, University of Missouri Police Department Chief Brian Weimer and other university officials met with Buffaloe on Monday afternoon to discuss next steps.<\/p>\n In a Monday night Facebook post, Buffaloe said there have been 58 confirmed incidents of gun shots fired in Columbia during the first nine months of this year. This is compared to 105 during the first nine months of last year.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Buffaloe attributed this to the city\u2019s \u201cproactive policing efforts,\u201d but acknowledged that police presence is not the only action needed to prevent violence. She added that the shooting this weekend occurred despite police officers being \u201cdirectly in the area.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n In the post, Buffaloe also referred to the incident as \u201csenseless gun violence\u201d and pledged her commitment to \u201creduce violence (and) address homelessness.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n In an emailed statement, Kehoe\u2019s office confirmed that he had been in contact with Choi and local leaders \u201cregarding the crime crisis plaguing Columbia.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cAs public safety and cracking down on crime remains his top priority, Governor Kehoe will continue to consider options to assist Columbia and communities across the state to address crime,\u201d the statement said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n In an emailed statement, Columbia College Senior Vice President and Provost Sandra Hamar said college students \u201cdeserve to feel safe both on campus and throughout our city.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n She expressed the college\u2019s support for Choi \u201cwho, along with many community leaders, is seeking meaningful change to ensure the safety of our city.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \t<\/p><\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n In an email to Mizzou faculty, staff and students on Saturday, Choi called for a variety of steps ranging from more policing downtown to the elimination of policies and practices that \u201cattract criminals.\u201d He also suggested calling on state support to fight crime in Columbia.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Sample expressed some need for caution when it comes to state involvement.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cI think we need to find what getting involved is,\u201d she said. \u201cI do not think they should be directive in how our city addresses it, but I would very much welcome a partnership and collaboration.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n While Choi had called for changing some policies, he had no specifics when asked about those on Monday.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cIf there\u2019s a particular policy that he is concerned about drawing crime, then I think that needs to be said out loud so that it can be appropriately investigated and addressed by the city,\u201d Sample said. \u201cAs we move forward, we do have a lot of work to do and we need community.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Foster also questioned Choi\u2019s comment about city policies.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cI think the suggestion that there are policies that attract a criminal element to our city, and that city leadership is responsible for that, is disappointing,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Foster emphasized the need to address underlying factors that can lead to an increase in crime, such as poverty, generational trauma and a lack of access to adequate mental health services. He added that supporting the Office of Violence Prevention and other similar work that is being done in neighborhoods throughout the community is imperative.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n During the news conference, Choi referenced crime numbers, which he said were provided by Schlude, showing crime against property is up 40%. According to the Columbia Police Department, crimes against property includes robbery, larceny, burglary and motor vehicle theft. The Police Department confirmed that crimes against property are up in the area. However, the city\u2019s crime trends dashboard shows crimes against property are down compared to last year.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Foster noted that the latest report the council received from the Police Department included year-to-date data that showed a 6% increase in violent crime and an overall 29% decrease in firearm-related incidents.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n First Ward Councilperson Valorie Carroll urged that \u201cwe take time to acknowledge the victims and the families.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cIt feels rather sudden to me,\u201d she said about Choi\u2019s call for emergency action.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cI\u2019m afraid that we have moved past this too quickly into a politically charged narrative in a way that does a disservice to the communities involved,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Sample and Foster emphasized the community\u2019s need to support Williams\u2019 family in their loss.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201dThe focus needs to really be on the family that lost their loved one. This is not over for them, and the community needs to show love and comfort to that family,\u201d Sample said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Kalli Fowler, Mackenzie Leece, Xavier Asher and Jack Schouten of the Columbia Missourian and Aminah Jenkins of KBIA contributed reporting to this story.<\/em><\/p>\n This article<\/a> was originally published in the Columbia Missourian<\/a> and is republished here with permission.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" UM System President Mun Choi speaks during a news conference Monday at Jesse Hall. Choi referred to the shooting over the weekend, which killed a Stephens College student, as part of a \u201ccrime crisis\u201d and demanded action from the city. Other officials, including City Council members and Gov. Mike Kehoe, have also called for action….<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":5612,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kadence_starter_templates_imported_post":false,"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5611","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n\n\n\n\n\n \n
City leaders respond to Saturday\u2019s shooting<\/h4>\n
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Choi makes demands of city<\/h4>\n
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