Eighteen-year-old Roberto Angel Lauer, a Battle High School senior known as Berto, was shot and killed at a residence in northeast Columbia, Missouri, on January 17, 2022. Emergency responders pronounced him dead at the scene after he sustained a fatal gunshot wound.

Columbia Police arrested 18-year-old Shawn Paul Long of Columbia. Court documents say Long admitted to investigators that he picked up a firearm and pointed it at Lauer in what he described as a playful manner, and the gun discharged. Several witnesses, including juveniles and a guardian, told police they saw Long point the weapon at Lauer just before the shot. Long was charged with involuntary manslaughter and armed criminal action, booked into the Boone County Jail on $250,000 cash-only bond, and pleaded not guilty after waiving formal arraignment; a bond hearing and a preliminary hearing were scheduled for late January and February 2022.

Columbia Public Schools provided additional counseling and support for students, staff, and families after the loss. If anyone was at that residence or has information about the events of January 17, 2022, please come forward.