Metro-east man shot in face during failed kidnapping, four arrested
A 52-year-old Uber driver from Monroe County is expected to survive despite being shot in the head during an attempted kidnapping early Saturday, police said.
According to a press release from the Columbia Police Department, the Columbia resident picked up two males, ages 17 and 20, in North St. Louis at about 2:30 a.m. A short distance into the ride, one of the males displayed a handgun and demanded he take them to his home.
Instead, the driver drove into the parking lot of the Columbia Police Department to seek help, at which point the one of the two males fired the weapon, striking the driver in the face, the release stated.
The suspects then fled on foot toward Bolm-Schuhkraft City Park and disappeared into a wooded area. Police and Columbia EMS workers immediately began treating the wounded driver and transported him to a local hospital. According to the release, the man is in critical condition but expected to survive.
A short time later, police officers spotted a silver GMC SUV occupied by two females driving slowly in the area where the suspects had fled. Police used a drone to follow the GMC and later observed two Black males exit the woods and get into the vehicle, the release stated.
Police stopped the SUV and all four occupants were arrested.. A gun also was recovered, police said. The suspects names have not been released pending criminal charges.
The wounded driver's name also was not released.
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