Seven people, including four children, were shot by a neighbor at a Nebraska home Friday evening, according to authorities, who said the crime could potentially be racially motivated.
At about 4:33 p.m., multiple 911 calls were made to report an active shooter situation on the 1200 block of Crestline Drive in Crete, a town in southeastern Nebraska, Nebraska State Patrol Col. John Bolduc said at a news briefing Saturday. Local officers and deputies responded to the scene, where they could still hear gunshots, including a single gunshot that came from a home across the street.
About 15 people were at the home at the time of the shooting, most of whom were outside in the yard, according to a news release. At least one of the victims was inside the home. It's not clear at this time who was a resident and who was visiting.
"It was quickly determined that all gunfire had come from a single residence at 1810 Parkland Street," Bolduc said, adding that a SWAT team responded to the home to apprehend what was believed to be "a barricaded subject."
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The SWAT team entered the home at about 6:40 p.m., where it found the 74-year-old suspect, Billy Booth, dead with a self-inflicted gunshot wound. A shotgun was found near Booth's body, Bolduc said.
"Preliminary investigation shows that all rounds fired by Booth came from inside of his house," Bolduc said. "Investigators are still actively working this investigation to understand everything that occurred, but at this point, we don't believe there was any verbal contact between the suspect and any of the victims in the moments that led up to the shooting."
Three of the victims found on the scene were adults, ranging in age from 22 to 43. Four were children, ranging in age from 3 to 10, Bolduc said. All of the victims are believed to be Hispanic, according to Crete Police Chief Gary Young Jr.
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Six victims were taken to the hospital initially and a seventh realized he was injured later that evening, according to the state patrol. Four have been released from the hospital and three are still receiving care — two of whom are in a children’s hospital. All are expected to survive.
There was a history between the suspect and the victims' families, according to Bolduc. The Crete Police responded to "several complaints" since 2021, most of which came from Booth regarding "driving behavior" in the neighborhood, according to Young, who also spoke at the news briefing.
"Not necessarily associated with the victims' house, but cars driving too fast in the neighborhood, improper parking, nuisance properties, quality-of-life type issues," Young said. "There was a single report from the victims that the suspect had flipped them off, told them to 'Go home' or 'back to where they came from,' to 'Speak English.'"
A responding officer who interviewed the family and the suspect at the time was willing to escalate the case, but the family declined, saying they would contact police, Young said.
"That resolved the situation, so we had no further contact," Young said.
When asked if there could be a racial element to the shooting, Young said, "There could be, we don't know."
"Certainly the context of 'Go home' and 'Speak English' lends itself to that," he said.
A motive is still under investigation, Young said.
State patrol said they were on the scene of "an active situation" on the east side of Crete Friday evening and warned the public to "stay clear of the area."
"The active situation has been resolved. There is no threat to the public," state patrol posted on X an hour later.
Authorities are asking anyone with information on the case to come forward. The shooting remains under investigation.
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