What’s the future of Airbnb in Columbia after shooting at rental left teen dead?
Columbia has paused issuing any new residential permits for Airbnbs, Vrbos and similar short-term rentals after a shooting among teenagers left one dead and three hospitalized at a rental in Elmwood Park Friday.
Jayden Cavon Brackins, 18, was killed after being shot multiple times, according to police. Three other teenagers were also shot and hospitalized. Police recovered more than 30 shell casings at the scene, and found multiple guns inside the rental.
The shooting woke the neighborhood early Friday morning and left residents in the tight-knit Elmwood Park community reeling for a sense of safety. It also brought center stage tensions many neighborhoods are still feeling over the city’s limits, or lack thereof, on rentals where the average stay is just a few days.
“There’s a larger gun violence problem, and that’s true, but … we’re running hotels in our neighborhood, and we have no idea who’s going to be next door from day to day,” said John Wilkinson, president of the Elmwood Park neighborhood association.
As of November, Elmwood Park had roughly 20 registered short-term rentals, according to data previously shared by the Columbia Police Department.
In the wake of the shooting, city council members agreed to pause new permits while they considered changes to short-term rental rules.
“I think the moratorium, a limited moratorium, gives council and the city room to make some larger changes without completely upending the current status quo,” said Columbia Councilman Tyler Bailey.
Bailey also said he did not want the debate over short-term rentals to eclipse the ongoing problem of gun violence among teens — adding that he felt the debate over these rentals would have emerged regardless of the shooting.
Council member Aditi Bussells agreed with Bailey, saying, “I think that the shooting kind of accelerated what we would have already done” regarding short-term rentals.
The moratorium on new permits is now in effect.
Years of debate
Short-term rentals have been a contentious topic in Columbia for years.
Homeowners say it’s a problem to not know who may be living next door from week to week. They have shared anecdotes about property damage, trash problems, parking headaches and more. And more broadly, they worry about the fabric of their neighborhoods, the value of their properties and the quality of life city leaders so often tout in Columbia.
Airbnb operators say they provide a crucial service for parents visiting Fort Jackson, travel nurses and others who pass through the city for a limited time. Property owners say they live in the area, they’ve sunk their savings into these properties and treat them as well as they would their own homes.
The city previously considered an outright ban of the rentals, but in 2023 passed a more relaxed ordinance that required the rentals be registered and permitted. It also created penalties for operators who break the new rules.
Some neighborhood representatives left that debate unsatisfied and skeptical that the rules would be evenly enforced.
When the city passed the ordinance, Bussells said she wanted the city to revisit the issue after one year. She said she supports Airbnbs, but also understands concerns from residents, particularly in historic neighborhoods.
“Until we had a full picture of a year of these things being in place, we really wouldn’t know what the kind of pain points are,” Bussells said. Now, she said the plan is to assess the data and then make recommendations for the city’s community development committee.
She said if the city council does decide to make changes, those proposals probably would not be voted on until this fall.
Enforcement questions
Wilkinson and others have also raised questions about if the city is actually enforcing its ordinance.
For example, the city’s rules say Airbnb operators are supposed to provide their contact information and notify residents of their existence, but Wilkinson said he’s never received those notifications.
It’s unclear if any of the city’s permitted short-term rentals have received enough point violations to have their permits revoked. Information provided by the city says short-term rentals have been penalized under the ordinance, but follow-up questions from The State asking for more detailed information were not answered by the end of the day Tuesday.
Columbia council members received an update on the ordinance in November. At that time, the city had 423 short-term rentals, with an estimated 70 operating without permits. As of Tuesday, there were 446 short-term rentals in Columbia, according to information provided by the city.
Police in November also shared with city council that in the 17 weeks after the ordinance went into effect, there were 47 calls to the police department at registered short-term rentals. Six of those calls resulted in an incident report being written. Those incidents included domestic situations, suspicious person calls and larceny.
Most of the calls were “report to meet” requests, typically over noise complaints or some other nuisance, police Chief Skip Holbrook told council members at the time.
Columbia Mayor Daniel Rickenmann told those in attendance Tuesday that members of council would be diligent in reviewing the rules for Airbnbs.
“What we are going to do tonight is not a knee jerk reaction,” he said prior to the council’s vote. Rickenmann said Airbnbs are important to the community but he hopes to address whatever gaps were left from the 2023 ordinance.
This story was originally published June 11, 2025 at 5:30 AM.
