Seven people were injured in a suspected racially motivated shooting in a Nebraska suburb.
The gunshots came from Billy Booth, a 74-year-old Crete resident, on Friday, and culminated in him turning the gun on himself and killing himself, cops said.
The incident occurred shortly before 4 p.m. local time and prompted a sharp police response.
Four of the victims were children between the ages of 3 and 10 and three were adults, said state troopers, who declined to name the victims because some are recovering from non-life-threatening injuries at local hospitals.
They are all believed to be Hispanic and some have already been released. The late gunman reportedly told residents of the home attacked last month to go back to where they came from, while telling them to speak English, police said.
A suspected racially motivated shooting in suburban Nebraska on Friday left seven people injured. Four of them were children and all are believed to be Hispanic. Although some were more seriously injured than others, all are expected to survive, police officers who responded to the crisis said.
On Friday, Billy Booth, 74, of Crete, shot and killed himself, according to police. The house from which he shot (and where he had lived) is seen here
“There could be, we don’t know,” Nebraska Crete Police Chief Gary Young said Saturday when asked if investigators believe the shooting was racially motivated.
“Certainly the context of ‘Go home’ and ‘Speak English’ lends itself to that.”
The day before, troopers investigating the case said they believed there were six people injured — three children and three adults — until “a seventh patient realized he had been injured later that evening,” Nebraska State Patrol Col. John A. Bolduc said.
During a subsequent press conference on Saturday, he confirmed that Booth “fired multiple rounds” from inside his own home next door, stating that the exact number of shots was unknown.
However, he said that “all injuries were consistent with shotgun blast injuries” and that “most of the victims were out of the home at the time of the shooting.”
At least one, he said, was inside the home when they were hit, and all are expected to survive.
The seven were part of a larger group of 15 people gathered at the residence for an apparent meeting, he added, saying it was not clear at this time who was a resident and who was a visitor.
“Recovery will be a long road for some of them,” he said of the victims.
The incident occurred shortly before 4 p.m. local time and prompted a strong police response. Seen here are members of a SWAT team deployed by the state.
Four of the victims were children between the ages of 3 and 10 and three were adults, said state troopers, who chose not to name the victims because some are recovering from non-life-threatening injuries at local hospitals. A group of people is seen outside the home Friday.
All are believed to be Hispanic and some have already been released. The slain gunman reportedly told residents of the home attacked last month to go back to where they came from, and told them to speak English, police said.
A friend of one of them, Joshua Morales, spoke with KeTV Television to claim that the shooter had previously made inflammatory comments and “shot into the house.”
He said the man has now confirmed that Booth shot his friend along with that person’s mother. The latter, he said, was shot four times in the back.
“(Booth) was supposedly telling (his friend’s) parents to go back to their country, and they got into trouble,” he said.
“And I guess so far the guy just shot at the house. I guess it was just a racist thing that happened.
‘So, I guess the guy who shot them was just racist because he shot a Hispanic family and told a Hispanic family to go back to their country.’
Police added that they believed no words were exchanged before the event, but that Booth and the family had a history.
This included fights over parking and other minor annoyances, along with the only report that the suspect had told them to go back to where they came from and to speak English while making obscene gestures at them in May.
The Crete Police Department confirmed that they received a call about the incident and that the family decided not to take the matter further.
A friend of one of them, Joshua Morales, spoke to KETV to claim that the shooter had previously made inflammatory comments and “had shot up the house.”
He said the man has now confirmed that Booth shot his friend along with that person’s mother. The latter, he said, was shot four times in the back.
Nebraska State Patrol Col. John A. Bolduc outlined a possible motive during a news conference Saturday but said those facets of the shooting are still under investigation.
In a statement from cooperating state officials, officers recalled how when officers arrived, they encountered a number of victims suffering from gunshot wounds outside the residence, as well as the suspect inside his own home.
A SWAT team, in turn, responded to apprehend what was believed to be “a barricaded subject,” Bolduc said, after which they heard “a single gunshot” emanating from the house across the street.
Inside, Booth was found dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, along with two firearms, one of which was the shotgun believed to have been used in both incidents.
Boldouc said that to his knowledge, Booth was legally permitted to carry a firearm.
“All of the shots came from a single residence at 1810 Parkland Street,” Bolduc said, mentioning the suspect’s home where he was found.
He added that as of early Saturday afternoon, four patients had been treated and released from area hospitals.
A SWAT team, in turn, responded to apprehend what was believed to be “a barricaded subject,” Bolduc said, after which they heard “a single gunshot” emanating from the house across the street.
Inside, they found Booth deceased from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, along with two firearms, one of which was the shotgun believed to have been used in both incidents. The shooting is still being investigated by local and state officials.
Three others remain in a hospital receiving care, including two at Children’s Hospital in Omaha and one at Bryan Health West Campus in Lincoln.
All of the injuries, he added, are believed to be non-life-threatening but serious.
“The active situation has been resolved,” his department said in a statement to X on Friday night after the bloody ordeal. “There is no threat to the public.”
An investigation into the incident is ongoing and anyone with information is urged to come forward.
Meanwhile, the shooter’s motive is still under investigation.
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