COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
Columbia Police Chief Jill Schlude wrote in an email Tuesday that her department is prioritizing downtown crime, enhancing technology to solve cases and collaborating with Boone County, city leaders and the Missouri State Highway Patrol to develop a plan to improve safety in Columbia.
The letter was Schlude’s first public statement since three bystanders were shot downtown over University of Missouri Homecoming weekend. One died.
Schlude acknowledged local concerns of violence downtown. She added that Saturday’s shooting that left two people injured and killed one woman marked the fourth, fifth and sixth uninvolved people shot downtown since March 2024.
Schlude said there have been 58 confirmed shootings in Columbia so far in 2025, about half the 105 reported during the same period in 2024. She said police have started four death investigations this year, compared to 10 during the same nine-month span last year.
According to the letter, after a shooting downtown in June that left one man injured, the department focused on launching a downtown enforcement initiative to focus on misdemeanor crimes as well as recruitment and officer training.
The department is focusing on reestablishing a unit focused on downtown crime, set to be implemented by summer 2026, the letter states. CPD is also working to improve investigation technology and work with the University of Missouri and local government and law enforcement departments to make a plan for community safety, Schlude wrote.
This is an ongoing story.