Three Columbus Shootings Overnight: Two drive bys and robbery leaves one in hospital
Isabelle Altman
Columbus, MS
Three shootings occurred overnight in Columbus, including one in which a victim was taken to a Tupelo hospital.
The victim in that incident was one of a five people at a party beside a residence in the 800 block of 10th Avenue South, according to Fred Shelton, interim chief with the Columbus Police Department. The man -- who authorities did not identify -- was shot in the back about 9:58 p.m. when five or six masked men entered and demanded money from the occupants.
The man is in stable condition in a Tupelo hospital, according to authorities.
The culprits had at least two guns between them, Shelton said. Police have no suspects in the case.
The shootings in the city occurred within a few hours of each other.
The first happened at 152 Maple St. Police received a call at 7:53 p.m. The home owner reported hearing eight or nine shots and finding a bullet that had broken a living room window, according to Shelton.
No one was injured.
Police are searching for a suspect in a black Dodge Challenger.
At 3:05 a.m. today, police received a call about a shooting on Woolbright Street. At around 2:15 p.m., several bullets shot from a car went through the bedroom window of a house in the 100 block of Woolbright Street. The occupants of the house -- a male and a female -- were both uninjured.
Shelton said the male occupant went looking for the shooters himself.
Police believe the first and third shootings were linked and that the man who went looking for the shooters at Woolbright is a suspect in the Maple Street shooting, Shelton said.
Shelton has scheduled a public meeting Thursday to discuss ways to improve safety in the city. The meeting will be held at Columbus High School at 6:30 p.m. Shelton will discuss the importance of educating and getting cooperation from citizens and give attendees the chance to voice their concerns about crime and other issues in the city.
"There are three important parts of improving safety in our city," Shelton said in a press release issued via the CPD's Twitter account. "First, we have to educate our citizens on what we are doing at the police department. Second, we need cooperation of the public. That cooperation is vital to effective police work. Third, we are stepping up enforcement and we can detail that. When we have all three parts working together, the end result is improved safety in our community."
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