Police search for suspects after gunshots fired downtown

Shots rang out in central Columbia on Saturday morning, but the culprits left behind nothing but a few shell casings and a pile of unanswered questions.

Witnesses called police just before 2 a.m. Saturday to report hearing three gunshots after they saw a group of 10 to 15 men arguing at the intersection of Locust and Waugh streets, said Columbia police Sgt. Will Green. As the men began to run away, the witnesses told police they heard three shots fired. Some of the men involved got into a large white car, possibly a Cadillac, and drove east on Locust toward College Avenue, Green said.

Police stopped a white car moments later and interviewed the three men inside, but, Green said, police do not believe that car was involved in the incident.

The driver, Dale P. Boggs, of Columbia, was arrested on suspicion of possession of drug paraphernalia, Green said. The other two men were released.

No victims in the shooting had come forward as of Saturday afternoon, Green said. The department’s Major Crimes Unit was investigating the incident.

Anyone with information on this incident should call the Columbia Police Department, or CrimeStoppers at 875-8477.