Man shot and killed on downtown Columbia’s Assembly Street, shutting down area traffic
One person is dead following a shooting in downtown Columbia, police say.
The Columbia Police Department responded to a fatal shooting of a man in the 1400 block of Assembly Street around 4 p.m. Tuesday afternoon.
“We don’t think feel like there’s any danger to the public right now,” said Police Chief William Holbrook shortly after 5 p.m., as police continued to work at the crime scene nearby the Richland Library.
A man was detained near the crime scene and will be questioned by investigators, police say. Possible witnesses will also be questioned.
Holbrook said around 5 p.m. that police did not yet have any information about the victim or a possible suspect to share.
Holbrook said officers were in the vicinity when they heard a gunshot and responded within a minute. They found a man with a gunshot wound in the 1400 block of Assembly, and the man was pronounced dead at the scene, Holbrook said.
Police recommend avoiding the area, which is one of the busiest parts of downtown Columbia, near the main branch of the Richland Library and a newly built student apartment complex, The Edge. Hampton and Assembly streets were closed and officers were rerouting traffic on Assembly.
On Wednesday, the homicide victim was identified as 42-year-old Columbia resident Leonard Colvin, according to Richland County Coroner Naida Rutherford.
This story was originally published June 6, 2023 at 4:57 PM.
