COLUMBIA, Mo. — Nearly 30 shots were fired by at least seven people in downtown Columbia in the early hours of Halloween, a 36-year-old woman who was simply in the area was shot in the back and critically wounded, and the case has now reached federal court: two more Columbia men, Detravion Latrell Coats, 21, and Treyvale Damarcus Cain-Raybon, 21, appeared in federal court on Friday, November 6, on complaints alleging they possessed ammunition after a prior felony conviction, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Missouri announced. Eight people have now been charged in connection with the shooting, and Columbia police are still looking for a ninth man wanted for first-degree assault.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Attorney's Office, Western District of Missouri, Nov. 6, 2026
The gunfire erupted shortly after 2:30 a.m. on Saturday, October 31, near North Eighth and Walnut streets in downtown Columbia, as Halloween night crowds were out in the city's central bar and entertainment district. Columbia Police Chief Jill Schlude told a news conference on Friday that at least seven people fired weapons during a dispute that unleashed nearly 30 shots. The 36-year-old Columbia woman who was shot in the back suffered life-threatening injuries; Schlude said she was simply in the area, and that she continues to recover.
Source: Columbia Police Chief Jill Schlude news conference, via Columbia Buzz (ComoBuzz), Nov. 6, 2026
What the federal affidavits say, man by man
According to the affidavit filed in support of the complaint against Coats, he was identified during a surveillance-video review as having been in the area of Ninth Street and Walnut Street at the time of the shooting, and was seen on the video firing over a vehicle at a group of individuals, discharging his weapon approximately ten times. Two Barnaul 9mm shell casings were later recovered from the area in which Coats was seen shooting, the Justice Department said. Coats has prior felony convictions for involuntary manslaughter, second-degree assault and resisting arrest, stemming from his involvement in a shooting death.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Nov. 6, 2026
The affidavit against Cain-Raybon likewise places him on surveillance video in an alleyway at the time of the shooting: investigators say the video shows him pointing a firearm at another person, then retreating behind a vehicle and firing two times. Winchester 9mm shell casings were later recovered from the area from which Cain-Raybon was firing. He has a prior felony conviction for unlawful use of a weapon. Under federal law, people with prior felony convictions are prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition — which is why the federal complaints charge possession of ammunition, the Justice Department noted. Both men appeared before Chief U.S. Magistrate Judge Willie J. Epps, Jr.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Nov. 6, 2026
Eight charged, one still sought
The two federal defendants are the latest names in a case that has widened all week. KJLU reported that as of Friday, eight people had been charged for their roles in the shooting. Five others are charged in the Columbia case alongside Coats, Cain-Raybon and a third federally charged man: Kelvin Clark, 22; Demarkus Cain, Jr., 21; De'Koryon White, 23; Demarquen Allen, 28; and a 16-year-old boy, who is not named here because he is a minor. Allen was among the first arrested and is charged with unlawful use of a weapon and armed criminal action. Iseah Jackson, 23, appeared in federal court earlier in the week on a complaint alleging he possessed a firearm after a prior felony conviction; KJLU reported that police recovered a loaded 9mm semi-automatic handgun from his glove box during a traffic stop, and that Jackson was previously sentenced to seven years in prison for a shooting on Columbia's east side in the summer of 2020. Officers continue to search for a ninth man wanted for first-degree assault.
Source: KJLU (Missouri public radio), Nov. 2026 reports on the Columbia Halloween shooting case
The Justice Department states plainly that the charges in the federal complaints are accusations, not evidence of guilt, and that the evidence must eventually be presented to a federal trial jury, whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence. The same presumption of innocence applies to every person charged in the state case. The federal case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Lauren E. Kummerer and was investigated by the Columbia Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), under the Project Safe Neighborhoods programme.
A bystander in the back, on the busiest night of the fall
The human centre of this case is not any of the alleged shooters. It is the 36-year-old woman who, on the police chief's account, was simply in the area near Eighth and Walnut when the dispute among others turned into gunfire, and who was shot in the back. Downtown Columbia surrounds the University of Missouri's flagship campus and fills with students and visitors on Halloween; a gunfight involving at least seven shooters in that crowd was, on the facts police have laid out, a matter of seconds and luck for everyone standing nearby. The woman's name has not been released, and her condition beyond 'continues to recover' has not been updated by police.
Source: Columbia Buzz, reporting Chief Schlude, Nov. 6, 2026
What is solid
- A shooting shortly after 2:30 a.m. on Oct. 31 near North Eighth and Walnut in downtown Columbia involved at least seven shooters and nearly 30 shots, and a 36-year-old bystander was shot in the back with life-threatening injuries (Columbia Police Chief Jill Schlude).
- Detravion Coats, 21, and Treyvale Cain-Raybon, 21, appeared in federal court on Nov. 6 on complaints alleging possession of ammunition after a prior felony conviction; affidavits cite surveillance video and recovered 9mm casings (U.S. Department of Justice).
- Eight people have been charged in connection with the shooting in total, and police are seeking a ninth man for first-degree assault (KJLU).
What is only claimed
- Who started the downtown dispute, and what it was about, has NOT been established in the public accounts; police describe a dispute but have not announced a motive.
- Every charge — federal and state — is an allegation. No defendant in this case has been convicted in connection with the Halloween shooting.
What happens next
The federal complaints against Coats and Cain-Raybon now move through the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri, where the evidence must be presented for the charges to proceed toward trial. The state charges against the other defendants proceed separately in Boone County. Columbia police are still asking for help identifying and locating the ninth man wanted for first-degree assault, and the department has said the investigation continues. Awaaz Punjab will update this story as court dates are set and if the ninth suspect is arrested.