Family of suspect in Nov. 14 shooting holds vigil after he was killed by police

A suspect in an early-morning gunfight Nov. 14 near Vibez Lounge was shot and killed by police in a downtown alley after the incident left five others injured.

The family and friends of Quillan Jacobs, 30, held a vigil for him Friday evening in the area where he was killed.

Rev. James Gray, who also spoke at a community briefing the day of the shooting, expressed his shared grief with Jacobs' family, whom he had spent the day with.

"The pain is not about us; it is about them," he said. "We have to remember every time we are out here, it is not about us. It is about what can we do to make things better."

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Gray said it is up to the community to lead by example for the youngest of children.

"We know what is in the dark will come to the light, and we have to be patient," he said.

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Family members of Jacobs, including his sister, Candice Gay, plan to speak at the Nov. 29 Columbia City Council meeting.

Those gathered Friday spoke of seeking justice for Jacobs' death.

"We just have to stay strong," said Dave Jacobs, Quillan Jacobs' uncle. "We have to keep our heads up and take things one day at a time."

Clare Adrian, who served as a parent educator for Quillan Jacobs' mother, was walking through the area of the vigil when Jacobs' family members recognized her. Quillan Jacobs always had a good energy when Adrian visited the family home, Adrian said.

The crowd of at least 50 people held red balloons in the shape of hearts and stars. They wrote messages on them such as "watch over us" and "RIP Quillan." One woman was wearing a jacket that displayed photos of Jacobs with the words, "Your wings were ready, but my heart was not," around the photos.

Jacobs was running south near 19 N. Fifth St. while shooting north into a crowd, Columbia Police Chief Geoff Jones said during the briefing about what Jones described as a "mass casualty incident."

Jacobs and Todd Duron Nesbitt Jr., 28, had been shooting at each other, police said.

Nesbitt fled north from the scene but was arrested later the same day of the incident. Nesbitt was charged with armed criminal action and assault in the first degree. He was remanded to the custody of the Boone County Jail and is being held on no bond.

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Officers chased Jacobs into a nearby alley, where they shot and killed him, Jones said.

The five people injured in the incident are in stable condition, with one requiring emergency surgery, he said.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol is conducting an independent investigation of the two officers involved in the fatal shooting, Jones said, consistent with normal practice. The police department's internal affairs unit will be involved consistent with its procedures, he added, and the two officers will not be working the street during the investigation.

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The police about 36 hours before the incident had announced a partnership with the University of Missouri and the Downtown Community Improvement District to step up foot patrols and crowd control downtown.

At the time of the incident, officers were in the immediate area of Vibez Lounge as well as other parts of downtown managing crowd dynamics and monitoring overall safety, Jones said.

Vibez owner R'Velle Fair announced on social media Wednesday that the nightclub would be closed this weekend, with a mental health professional on-site for two hours Saturday afternoon.

The purpose of the closure and special event was to "begin to unpack, and address, the trauma that some suffered as a result of the acts of violence that have occurred, and continue to occur, in our community," Fair wrote.

This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Man allegedly involved in shooting, killed by police mourned by family