Two incidents in past weekend spur changes
Columbia police plan to ramp up their presence in Five Points following a pair of fights over the weekend and an incident in which shots were fired, Chief Randy Scott said.
“Five Points is ... an entertainment area for the consumption of alcohol. That is not a church,” Scott said. “Things are going to happen in Five Points, but we’re going to increase the manpower. We will not tolerate violence.”
Details of the change aren’t set yet, but Scott said it would come at the cost of the city’s budget.
Both incidents occurred on the same block of Harden Street near Greene Street, one each in the early hours of Saturday and Sunday morning.
At about 2 a.m. Sunday, a police officer on patrol saw between 15 and 20 men fighting on Harden Street between the Library and Breaker’s bars and tried to break it up, according to an incident report.
“As [the officer] broke up one fight, four more would start up,” the report said.
Eventually, the men noticed police had responded and began to flee. No one stayed on scene, and no one appeared to be injured.
As the suspects ran, the officer heard between eight and 10 gunshots from “what appeared to be a large caliber pistol” coming from the Shell gas station at 819 Harden St., according to the report.
The report states the officer saw two black men, both dressed in black, running from the gas station through a parking lot that connects with Greene Street.
Police searched the area but didn’t find either man and didn’t notice any property damage or injuries as a result of the gunshots.
“No one was hurt, but we will not tolerate it,” Scott said.
The brawl followed a fight inside the Library early Saturday morning, Scott said.
Initially, Five Points was abuzz with rumors that a gun was fired, and that’s what police were called for, but no shots were fired in that incident, according to police spokeswoman Jennifer Timmons.
In that fight, a man was kicked in the face and had a bottle thrown at his head around 2:15 a.m., according to a separate incident report. He suffered facial injuries.
A second victim was held back by another suspect, but police aren’t sure how many people were involved in the fight.
Across town at about 3 a.m., five people were shot at the T and T Uptown Lounge on 3000 Colonial Drive, and Scott said police were investigating possible links between the three incidents.
“We’re thinking that all this might have some kind of a connection, so we’re still investigating that,” Scott said.