It took less than 48 hours for local prosecutors in Omaha, Nebraska, to conclude a white bar owner acted in self-defense when he shot and killed a black man who attacked him outside his business during widespread rioting in the city Saturday night.
Douglas County Attorney Don Kleine announced Monday that Jake Gardner, who owns several bars in downtown Omaha, was justified when he shot and killed 22-year-old James Scurlock. No charges will be filed.
A surveillance video from Gardner’s bars shows a group of young people, including Scurlock, approaching Gardner outside one of his establishments, the Omaha World-Herald reported.
Gardner backed up once approached by Scurlock and exposed his handgun on his side under his shirt. Scurlock charged Gardner twice, the video shows, at one point laying on top of his back and holding his arm around the bar owner’s neck.
Gardner fired one shot that hit Scurlock in the shoulder and neck area, killing him.
“There was a consensus that the actions of the shooter were justified,” Kleine said of the incident. “We certainly wish that none of this would have happened. It’s a senseless death.”
Since largely peaceful demonstrations began in cities across the country protesting the police killing of George Floyd, so has widespread looting, vandalism, and arson.
Countless images have surfaced over the last week of store owners, some brandishing firearms, attempting to protect their businesses or employees from robbers or other violent attackers.
President Trump, on Monday, threatened to deploy the U.S. military to cities struggling to control rioting and violent crime amid the demonstrations, saying he stands with peaceful protesters but remains a president committed to “law and order.”
