JEFFERSON CITY — Gov. Mike Kehoe met with Columbia Mayor Barbara Buffaloe, City Manager De'Carlon Seewood and Police Chief Jill Schlude at his office Monday to discuss public safety after a weekend of violence in the city. Buffaloe said the meeting went well.
The meeting has been on the books since early December when Buffaloe requested it after UM System President Mun Choi met with Kehoe to discuss the same topic. Buffaloe said she and city leaders were not asked to join that conversation.
Choi was not present at the meeting on Monday.
A month later, on Saturday night, shots were fired in Dick's Sporting Goods, followed by a carjacking, which prompted a large police presence at The Shoppes at Stadium. The suspect is 17 years old, police said.
Sunday night, a violent incident involving a gun at an apartment complex on Clark Lane killed 21-year-old Brianna N. Hawkins, of Fulton, and two others were also hurt. James Lamont Caldwell Jr., 23, was charged with second-degree murder.
After the meeting on Monday, Buffaloe told KOMU 8 News that keeping guns out of the hands of minors is a top priority.
"Part of our legislative priorities that we have is any support that they can provide on especially minors in possession of firearms," Buffaloe said. "There's a gray area between Missouri law and federal law. And so, if we were able to clear that up, that would help our officers when responding to youth with firearms."
Buffaloe said city leaders are supporting legislation filed by State Sen. Stephen Webber, D-Columbia, to make it state law that minors may not possess handguns. Currently, that's only a federal law. Buffaloe said she did not ask Kehoe specifically whether he supports this legislation in a meeting on Monday, but clarity on that could come soon as the 2026 legislative session starts on Wednesday.
Buffaloe said she, Schlude, and Seewood also expressed the need for financial support from the state for public safety. This comes as sales tax revenue for the city continues to come in below projections.
At the same time, however, state general revenue funds continue to decrease just as surplus cash may soon run out. So, city leaders are asking a for assistance regarding financial struggles from a state facing revenue struggles of its own.
Months in the making
A plan to get city leaders and the governor in the same room to discuss crime and gun violence in Columbia has been in talks since September after a shooting in downtown Columbia killed Aiyanna Williams, a senior studying nursing at Stephens College. Two other people were also shot that night.
The shooting happened just hours before the University of Missouri's Homecoming parade kicked off and prompted UM System President Mun Choi to ask city leaders to take action against what he called a crime crisis. He cited a city survey conducted in 2024 that showed 8% of respondents felt "very safe" in the city and 47% of respondents viewed walking downtown as "unsafe."
Schlude wrote a letter to the community in the wake of the Homecoming weekend shooting. It said she and her agency "recognize the fear and frustration these events bring, especially for parents and families, and we share in the urgency to stop them."
