Richland sheriff, Columbia police chief vow to hunt down top 10 gun-wielding bad guys

Midlands cops declared war Tuesday on bad guys with guns.

Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott and Columbia police Chief Skip Holbrook said they are creating a task force to hunt down the Columbia area's top 10 violent criminals.

Many are gang members, officers said.

"We're going to go after them," Lott told a gathering of neighborhood representatives and media Tuesday at Columbia Police Department headquarters. "If they break the law, we're going to be there."

The vow of a crackdown follows 11 shooting fatalities during the first three months of the year — six in Richland County and five in the city, officials said.

During Tuesday's news conference, Lott, Holbrook and Columbia Mayor Steve Benjamin stood behind a table strewn with several dozen handguns, shotguns and other firearms taken from suspects in recent months.

"We have a shooting every day," Lott said. "That doesn't mean somebody is shot every day ... but, every day, there's shots fired."

Officers said many of the guns used in the shootings are stolen from cars, where owners have left them. Officers urged citizens to not leave weapons in cars and to report stolen weapons.

Asked if the top 10 list would be released, Lott said no. But, he added, "It's going to be published to us. They know who they are."

This story was originally published April 24, 2018 at 4:03 PM with the headline "Richland sheriff, Columbia police chief vow to hunt down top 10 gun-wielding bad guys."