COLUMBIA - The city has experienced increased gun violence this year, according to the Columbia Police Department - within one hour alone this week, the department responded to three different shootings. One of those was fatal.
As a lifelong Columbia resident and the father of two teenagers, Deputy Chief Melron Kelly said he takes the issue personally.
"There has been an uptick in shootings over the past few months. That is a concern, and we are not dismissing it as routine," Kelly said. "But I want to be clear - policing alone will not solve this."
What's driving the shootings?
Since the start of 2026, there have been 36 shootings in the city, with 5 fatalities.
While the department doesn't yet have a breakdown behind the causes of the recent shootings, Kelly said that based on past data, shooting incidents in the city generally fit into four categories:
- Sudden altercations that escalate to shootings
- Shootings that stem from long-term ongoing arguments, which are often referred to as "beefs"
- Robberies
- Domestic violence cases
"It is very rare to have a random shooting incident involving persons that are unknown to one another," Kelly said. "The majority of shootings appear to stem from either sudden unexpected alterations or ongoing disputes between individuals known to each other. We have very rare occurrences of random or unknown acts of violence."
Kelly said the department has historically seen gun violence concentrated in northeast Columbia, in zip codes like 29023 and 29024, but now the department is also seeing activity along the Broad River corridor.
Three shooting victims this year have been juveniles: ages 11, 15, and 17. But the department said that the overall rate of juvenile involvement isn't increasing this year, as far as they can tell. In many cases, the department said that kids get access to guns through unsecured weapons and illegal transfers.
"That is where responsibility extends beyond law enforcement," Kelly said. "Safe storage, parental awareness, and community accountability all matter."
How are Columbia police addressing the violence?
While April, May and June historically see higher gun violence, that starts to wane in mid-summer, according to the department.
Kelly said that while they are preparing for the summer with increased enforcement strategies and continued investment in prevention, the department is also looking to step in with early intervention, "before a weapon is ever involved."
The department has a litany of programs to give young people "real alternatives and real structure," including:
- Justice Ambassadors
- Police Activities League
- Summer internships
- Partnerships with schools and community organizations
In 2015, the department also launched "Ceasefire Columbia," a program aimed at people who were either likely to become a victim of gun violence or had already gone to jail because of it.
With the help of a "ceasefire coordinator," the department invited a dozen of those people into the same room with local law enforcement agencies and told them "please stay out of trouble, and if you don't stay out of trouble, we're going to push you to the top of the prosecution list," Kelly said.
The catch? The room was also lined with service providers who could help the individuals find work, complete their education, and connect them with parenting resources.
According to Kelly, the recidivism rate for people in the program was 19 percent in 2024 and 2024 - the national rate was 37 percent.
"I believe in balance. I believe that we should be able to help people when we can, but also incarcerate people that absolutely are the worst of the worst," Kelly said.