Myia Curry decided to stay. That’s how she met her husband, Mike Curry, when she walked into his apartment, mistaking it for her best friend’s.
“I looked at her and was struck,” Mike said.
In their decade spent together — building the Popcorn Shop kernel by kernel and raising four children — Mike learned how to stay too.
So when a gunman opened fire down Broadway on Sept. 27, the Currys did exactly what so many others would not dare to do: they stayed.
“She was screaming ‘get in the store, get in the store, get down …” Mike said. “... And she did all of that at the same time as helping the girl that was shot.”
As Myia guided people to shelter in the shop’s foyer, Mike ran to the back to find something to assist a young woman who had been shot in the leg. He found a scarf — one of their anniversary gifts — which the couple wrapped around the woman’s leg to limit her blood loss.
“That’s my hero,” Mike said of Myia.
Mike and Myia hope to reunite with the young woman they helped save that night. The couple has kept her belongings tucked away safely in their shop in case the occasion comes.
“We still appreciate the ability to help others along our journey, and that’s good enough in the eyes of God. It’s good enough for us,” Mike said.
Obscured by a parked car, a notch in the pavement is enclosed by a ring of pink spray paint. Just feet from the entrance of their shop, Mike says it marks where one of the bullets landed.
“That could have been our daughter,” Myia said. The Curry’s youngest daughter usually joins them on weekends, donning a costume and dancing to attract customers into the family business.
The shooting caused Mike and Myia, originally from St. Louis, to reconsider where they want to raise their family of six.
“It’s difficult to see them growing up in such a peaceful place which has little thorns in it, I mean [thorns] of violence,” Mike said. He worries about how prevalent gun violence has become. “It’s dangerous everywhere.”
As Mike continues down Broadway, more pink circles come into view.
Aiyanna Williams, a senior at Stephens College, was killed the night of the shooting. She was a Columbia native, multi-sport athlete, entrepreneur and a Care Team associate at MU Hospital's Cardiovascular unit.
The comments of Stephens College’s memorial Instagram post overflow with messages of remembrance, gratitude and grief from friends, peers and former patients. In a photo shared by Stephens, Williams holds a sign that reads “To me, the white coat means the blessing and privilege to serve others to the best of my ability.”
Near the painted circle indicating the position of the bullet that fatally struck Williams, bouquets, framed photos, and handwritten notes in her honor fill the street.
“She was too young — got a lot of good things going for herself. I sit and think about that all the time, every day,” Myia said.
The night of the shooting, hundreds of students were downtown celebrating the University of Missouri’s Homecoming weekend. At the time of the shooting, many of the downtown bars had just closed.
“Who would have thought that something so tragic could happen in seconds?” Mike said.
Williams’ family asked that her death not become politicized. However, debate among MU administration, police and city leaders quickly ensued. The day following the shooting, UM System President Moon Choi called for immediate action to be taken downtown, including: heightened police presence, cleanup of homeless encampments, and prosecution to the full extent of the law for crimes. (There is no evidence to suggest any homeless individuals were involved in the shooting.)
Within days, the City of Columbia announced increased staffing at the Columbia Police Department and MUPD, with heavier foot patrol downtown during peak weekend hours, among other efforts.
“I am committed to working with these partners to make changes that align with our community values and create a safe and healthy environment for students, families and business owners,” Mayor Barbara Buffaloe said in an Oct. 1 press release.
In the months since, the downtown crime debate has ballooned. Conflicting crime metrics have been presented by MU spokespeople and Mayor Buffaloe, who was excluded, along with CPD Chief Jill Schlude, from a meeting with Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe on Dec. 11.
Mike said he was thankful for the increased police presence following the shooting, and that without the work of officers the night of the shooting, he doesn’t think he would have been able to help as much as he did.
Still, he worries these measures fall short of addressing the underlying causes of mass shootings.
“There could have been a million cops out here, and nothing would have stopped those bullets from coming out of that guy's gun,” Mike said.
Mike said he wants to see city leaders proactively engaging students and young Columbians in conversations about preventing gun violence. He said that they carry the “common sense that a lot of us old people aren’t using,” and he encouraged young people to talk peer-to-peer about gun safety.
“We shouldn’t have to settle with such tragedies, senseless deaths like Aiyanna’s,” he said.
As Mike and Miya begin to move forward with their lives, they rely on each other for support. Miya experiences flashbacks to the night; Mike’s memory of the evening plays back like a movie.
Talking through it helps: “Holding it in your head is just like holding warm milk, you know? I mean, sooner or later it’s gonna spoil,” said Mike.
And they’ve learned it’s best to let it all out.
“I tell her she can cry, cry because she is a real-life hero,” he said.
The Popcorn Shop has stayed open, but Miya is hesitant to resume her position outside the storefront at night. She says she dodged a bullet that night — literally.
“You don’t know what might happen again the next, and the next, and the next day,” Miya said. “I have to keep watching me and my husband’s back all the time.”
The Currys won’t take too much credit for what they did that night. Mike praises Miya’s decisiveness and strength, and Miya heralds Mike’s bravery and compassion. They tell each other every day how proud they are of one another. Mike says they try to be humble, but just knowing that some of the people they helped ultimately survived is more than enough reason to celebrate.
But as the couple began to move forward with their lives, there was another change – the Popcorn Corner received an eviction notice on December 15 for a suspended operating permit.
Now, the shop’s windows are blacked out, its future unclear. So, too, is the fate of the shooting victim’s belongings, which the Currys continue to hold onto – another memory of a violent night, and a reminder that sometimes closure can be hard to find.
Until then, Mike says, “I hope this makes everybody feel uncomfortable. Do not, do not get comfortable with tragedies like these.”
