Yep, at mom's bookstudy. I'm just glad she "wasn't feeling well that night"!!
Investigation continues into Columbia shooting
By Mark Slavit
Posted: Tuesday, December 19, 2006 at 4:29 p.m.
COLUMBIA -- Columbia police investigators say a shooting outside a Jehovah’s Witness assembly hall is a possible hate crime. Witnesses say a masked man opened fire on a group of worshipers as they were leaving the hall about nine o’clock Monday night. An unidentified woman was shot, but not seriously injured. We discovered there are many unanswered questions surrounding the shooting.
Columbia police investigators have very little evidence and just a few clues regarding the shooting at Columbia’s Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses.
We do know that witnesses to the crime could only say the shooter was a man, about 5’8” tall and weighed about 160 pounds. The suspect fired several times into a group of worshippers.
An unidentified 36-year-old woman was shot several times, but her wounds are not life threatening. Investigators are not ruling out a hate crime since the shooting occurred at a place of worship.
“We’ve talked to the victim on at least one occasion,” explains Columbia Police Captain Brad Nelson. “She’s not having any problems with anybody that she knows of. So to answer your question, there is not a motive at this point as to why we have this victim. If she was the intended target, we’re not sure why nor is she, if it was just shooting into a group and hitting her or if she was the intended target. We’re not sure.”
Authorities say four different congregations use this assembly hall during the week.
I tried to talk to members of the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses and they told me they were instructed not to talk to the media and let the police handle all interviews. One thing they did tell investigators is that they think the shooting was premeditated.
Investigators told me the shooter waited for his victims near the door of the assembly hall. Witnesses say he just didn’t walk up to building and start firing. Police still don’t know if the wounded woman was the intended victim or who pulled the trigger.
Last I heard, they think it was "gang" related. Something about a sister's son...........