A man is in the hospital and a school bus was shot during a firefight Monday afternoon on Martin Luther King Jr. Drive.
Now, police are looking for suspects.
Officers responded to a report of shots fired at about 3:04 p.m., Columbus Police Department Chief Joseph Daughtry told The Dispatch.
Occupants of a dark-colored Dodge Charger, driving north on MLK, shot at Martus Meeks and Enry Meadows, both 18, at a residence on the street’s 1500 block, across from the Columbus Housing Authority. Meeks and Meadows returned fire, hitting the right front tire of a Columbus Municipal School District bus dropping off children nearby.
Meadows was hit in the exchange and was taken to Baptist Memorial Hospital-Golden Triangle for non-life-threatening injuries, Daughtry said.
The school bus was carrying 10 elementary school students and the driver, none of whom were injured, Daughtry said.
School administration arrived quickly, Daughtry said, enacted the district’s crisis management plan and quickly reunited the students with their parents.
“The administration got here. They made sure the kids were safe. They started contacting parents because, as you know, I can tell you all day the kids are fine, but until parents lay eyes on their children, they’re not trying to hear that. … It shows the school district practiced this because it was like clockwork.”
“Thankfully our bus driver was able to keep them calm,” Craig Chapman, assistant superintendent for operations and support services, said of the students.
Meeks and Meadows face charges of shooting into an occupied vehicle and discharging a firearm inside the city limits. Daughtry said police were still trying to locate Meeks as of press time.
Officers also are looking for leads on suspects in the Dodge Charger, who face charges of shooting into an occupied dwelling. Daughtry said CPD is still trying to determine how many suspects were in the car, as well as identify them.
Anyone with information about the shooting can leave an anonymous tip with Golden Triangle Crime Stoppers at (800) 530-7151. Tips could lead to a cash reward.
Zack Plair is the managing editor for The Dispatch.
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You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 36 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
