Man accused of firing gun at traffic on I-35 in Liberty indiscriminately: court records

A 26-year-old man faces a single felony charge after he allegedly fired multiple rounds indiscriminately with a handgun at passing traffic while walking along Interstate 35 in Liberty on Friday, according to court records.

Christian M. Brown, of Pleasant Valley, is charged in Clay County Circuit Court with unlawful weapon use. He is held in Clay County Jail on $100,000 bond, according to court records.

No one was injured by gunfire. But the event drew a response from several law enforcement agencies, closing the highway for a brief period as they sought a suspect.

Police were sent at 12:49 a.m. Friday to a hotel at 130 S. Stewart Road in Liberty after receiving a report of a man firing a handgun at the highway nearby. Brown was found by authorities walking alongside the shoulder of I-35. A 9mm handgun was discovered in his waistband when he was arrested, according to court records.

The Clay County Sheriff’s Office has said a nonlethal round was fired at Brown by a deputy before he was apprehended.

One witness told police he and his wife were letting their dogs out when they saw a man identified by authorities as Brown walk past them. Shortly afterward the witness heard what sounded like a gunshot, and saw the same man fire a bullet “willy-nilly” at the highway, according to court records.

Police found two spent shell casings along the highway shoulder. A pistol magazine with room for 17 bullets was also found with seven rounds loaded inside, according to court records. That magazine fit inside the pistol that police recovered from Brown, an investigator wrote in court documents.

Brown denied any involvement in the shooting when speaking with police. A criminal defense attorney for Brown did not immediately reply to The Star’s email requesting comment on Wednesday afternoon.