Columbia had a violent weekend that included a murder and a drive-by shooting.
Sunday afternoon around 1:40 p.m., the Columbia Police Department responded to call for shots fired at 1521 Hale Street. Once they arrived on scene, they found Tajuan Sinclair Kendricks, 30, of Columbia gunned down while sitting in a black Mercedes next to the driveway.
While members of the police department and Marion County Sheriff’s Office investigated the scene, officers located the suspected car that was described in the 911 call. The white sedan was on Dale Street near High School Avenue and was stopped. Upon investigation, two individuals, both from Columbia, Bryston Martin, 21, and Dayshon Allen, 22, were arrested and charged with the murder of Kendricks.
It appeared the vehicle had been shot at least eight times on the driver’s side. While the exact number of shots fired has not been released by the police department, a neighbor who wished not to be identified said she heard a bunch of gunshots while she was inside her home.
Police Chief Michael Kelly held a press conference outside of the city police department Monday afternoon and said they had reasons to believe the shooting was gang related but could not provide any further details.
Friday afternoon police responded to a shots fired call in the vicinity of Jefferson Middle and Columbia Primary schools just before dismissal. As a precaution the schools were placed on a soft lockdown.
Columbia School District Superintendent Jason Harris issued a statement Monday regarding the event: “Our school resource officers and administration at Jefferson Middle and Columbia Primary each initiated CSD safety protocols immediately.”
Harris said the lockdown lasted for almost 20 minutes, delaying dismissal of the students. Once the police department confirmed it was safe, both schools began dismissing their students.
Later Friday evening police responded to a drive-by shooting that was also on Hale Street. No one was injured in the shooting.
Martin and Allen made their initial appearances in Columbia Municipal Court on Monday before Judge Donovan McComb. Each were charged with second-degree murder and had a bond of $100,000 each. When McComb was addressing Martin and told him that if Martin is found guilty he could be looking at life in prison, Martin just hung his head down.
Allen, who lives at the address the shooting took place, and Martin bonded out Monday evening.
Kelly said he was unsure if all three incidents were related, but it is something being investigated.
The investigation into these matters are on-going. Anyone with any information may contact Metro Crime Stoppers at (601) 582-STOP or send in tips using the Crime Stoppers P3 Tips app.
