A 22-year-old St. Louis man is being held without bond at the Boone County Jail after he allegedly threatened to grab a gun and shoot every white person during a downtown Columbia pop-up event this week. Manareldeen Nique Fajors now faces three felonies and one misdemeanor stemming from the confrontation, and as of Friday he had no scheduled court date.
According to ABC 17 News, Fajors first showed up at a minimart during the pop-up event on Sept. 16 and came back to the same minimart the following day. Court documents cited by the station say he threatened to grab a gun and shoot every white person during that return visit.
A worker at the minimart told police that event rules allowed only one pass per person, but Fajors was carrying multiple event passes, the outlet reports. That dispute appears to have set off the physical altercation that followed.
Alleged Attack Detailed in Probable-Cause Statement
Per the probable cause statement described in the report, Fajors tackled one person and then elbowed a second person who tried to intervene and stop him. The statement says he put his hand in the victim's mouth and tried to separate the victim's cheek from the victim's jawline before becoming aggressive again.
Prosecutors charged Fajors with second-degree making a terroristic threat, first-degree burglary, third-degree assault and fourth-degree assault, according to the same account. Under Missouri law, a person commits assault in the third degree if he or she knowingly causes physical injury to another person, according to the Revised Statutes of Missouri.
Held Without Bond, No Court Date Set
Fajors was booked into the Boone County Jail and is being held without bond. As of the report, no court date had been scheduled in his case. The full sequence of events, including further details from the probable-cause statement and the identities or conditions of those allegedly attacked, has not been independently confirmed beyond what has been reported.
The incident adds to a string of violent confrontations authorities in Columbia have had to untangle in public spaces this year, though details of the pop-up event itself, including its exact location and organizers, have not been made public.
