After a fatal shooting on the morning of homecoming, the University of Missouri’s top leader declared that crime in Columbia, home to the state’s flagship university, had reached a crisis point.

UM System President Mun Choi immediately sent a blistering letter to Columbia Mayor Barbara Buffaloe, demanding policy changes and threatening to involve Missouri’s Republican governor.

He called for more police downtown, elimination of policies “that attract criminals to the region” and a cleanup of homeless encampments.

But Choi’s letter, and a follow-up briefing with reporters on Monday, sidestepped one issue that has long plagued officials in Missouri and across the country: gun control.

“I believe that we need to enforce laws that we have,” Choi said when asked by The Star whether Missouri

See Full Page