Columbia shooting not random
Investigators now believe the Friday shooting at Fireside Apartments was not a random act.
The victim, 19, was shot three times and remains in critical condition.
According to a Columbia Police Department news release, suspects removed items, including a safe, from the apartment after the shooting and put them in a red car.
Police secured the car and obtained a search warrant for the safe. It contained a firearm, and a substantial amount of cash and marijuana, the news release stated. This strengthens investigators' suspicions that the shooting was part of a home-invasion robbery. According to the news release, investigators believe the safe was the target of the robbery.
Responding officers and detectives collected shell casings and bullets that had been fired during the shooting, the news release stated. Investigators are still looking for a silver Dodge Magnum with tinted windows that witnesses said was involved in the crime.
Anyone with any information about this case, or the whereabouts of the suspects or suspect vehicle, is asked to call the police department at 874-7652 or Crime Stoppers at 875-tips.