Crime in Omaha

[djc311]

The pictures of the incident and the follow-up photo of the boys' cuts this morning are pretty sobering.

As more is learned about the attacker's history, it is frustrating, sad, infuriating, and many other things all at once.

The one where she stabbed her dad, lit him on fire before, running to St Francis Cabrini and destroying stuff in the church?

Yep, same person

Exactly - I'd have to argue this woman had about as bad of history as one can have without killing someone (yet). Why she was allowed to wander the streets (regardless of her having to "check in") is beyond me. I respect and support people getting help, but this should have never gotten to this point. I would think there are facilities in place that are locked, require direct supervision to leave, etc. but maybe I'm way out of my mind on that.

[Busguy2010]

Man, thank god that boy will be okay. She was taken to Bergan Mercy for an injury on a domestic call, checked out, went to Walmart and did this. It could have happened anywhere.

[Garrett]

Well according to Pillen, this was all caused by phones and social media, and there was nothing the government could have done

https://www.ketv.com/article/nebraska-l ... e/71029647

[NEDodger]

Well according to Pillen, this was all caused by phones and social media, and there was nothing the government could have done

https://www.ketv.com/article/nebraska-l ... e/71029647

He’s got to be one of the most ignorant people that has ever received a doctorate. I hope Walz can pull the upset and send the clown back to his farm.

[Toto]

Well according to Pillen, this was all caused by phones and social media, and there was nothing the government could have done

https://www.ketv.com/article/nebraska-l ... e/71029647

He’s got to be one of the most ignorant people that has ever received a doctorate. I hope Walz can pull the upset and send the clown back to his farm.

Exactly, he lives in fantasy land. Worst governor in my lifetime.

[Busguy2010]

I cant touch it with a 20 foot pole. I just cant imagine a society where a person caught in the act of obviously intending to kill a kidnapped toddler with a stolen knife gets the "what better could we have done for her" treatment. Its disgusting. There's a line, somewhere WAYYYY down there.

[Garrett]

I cant touch it with a 20 foot pole. I just cant imagine a society where a person caught in the act of obviously intending to kill a kidnapped toddler with a stolen knife gets the "what better could we have done for her" treatment. Its disgusting. There's a line, somewhere WAYYYY down there.

She didn't just magically poof in from the ether, knife in hand ready to kill. She had previously committed a crime just a few years ago, and yet clearly was not getting services her parents were actively trying to get her into. If your only response to something like this is to throw your hands up and say "Welp, nothing we could have done, kids and their phones these days huh?" then you shouldn't work in government.

Yeah, the police did the right thing here, no doubt about that. But we shouldn't be reliant on the chance that there is an armed officer in the right place at the right time for situations like this.

[Cermak]

Luckily the youth was not killed or seriously wounded. That would have been a terrible tragedy. The police did the right thing by gunning her down. This was similar to the West Omaha Target store incident a few years ago, when the police put down another person before they shot up the store. Mental health is a huge problem in this country as most are well aware of. Whether smart phones are to blame. Who knows, maybe.

[djc311]

Well according to Pillen, this was all caused by phones and social media, and there was nothing the government could have done

https://www.ketv.com/article/nebraska-l ... e/71029647

What a total TOOL. Again, I didn't vote for this clown show. What an ignorant, egotistical thing to say. She should NOT have been free to roam the streets, that's all there is to it. Started her dad on fire, broke into a church and made a priest hide for his life.

BTW, love how Pillen had someone die on his farm that was basically just brushed under the rug... was that caused by the internet as well?

[nebugeater]

As you can probably tell, if you pay attention to my take on things, I tend to vote R. Never vote the party line to jst vote R though

All that aside, this state does not deserve what Pillen brings to the table. When Lindstrom dropped out of the senate race, I really thought he would jump into the Gov race, but it looks like that isn't happening

[locoluke]

Luckily the youth was not killed or seriously wounded. That would have been a terrible tragedy. The police did the right thing by gunning her down. This was similar to the West Omaha Target store incident a few years ago, when the police put down another person before they shot up the store. Mental health is a huge problem in this country as most are well aware of. Whether smart phones are to blame. Who knows, maybe.

The shooter at Target seems to have had similar mental health struggles to those of the lady in the Walmart incident. When you look at the timeline of events, the Target shooter was pretty clearly not interested in actually killing anyone, but just creating enough of a scene to get himself killed. It's also worth noting that he purchased the gun he used only four days before the incident per that second article I linked. Perhaps a mandatory waiting period could have changed things, but of course it's hard to know for certain.

As far as Pillen goes, I don't disagree that social media can be detrimental to mental health, but it certainly doesn't cause schizophrenia. People with struggles like these require a lot of care, support, and supervision, which is absolutely something the government can and probably should help with. To just blame it on "those damn phones" and lean back on the ol' reliable idea of individual responsibility here is not only disheartening, but quite frankly stupid.

Finally, while I don't at all disagree with the use of force by OPD, seeing all the people online acting like she was some wild animal that needed to be put down and deserved to die is disappointing. She was a human being with people who loved and cared about her, and she fell through the cracks. What she did was terrible, there's no disputing that, but to have no empathy for this woman who was failed by the systems that are supposed to protect both her and the rest of society is again disappointing.

[Busguy2010]

I cant touch it with a 20 foot pole. I just cant imagine a society where a person caught in the act of obviously intending to kill a kidnapped toddler with a stolen knife gets the "what better could we have done for her" treatment. Its disgusting. There's a line, somewhere WAYYYY down there.

She didn't just magically poof in from the ether, knife in hand ready to kill. She had previously committed a crime just a few years ago, and yet clearly was not getting services her parents were actively trying to get her into. If your only response to something like this is to throw your hands up and say "Welp, nothing we could have done, kids and their phones these days huh?" then you shouldn't work in government.

Yeah, the police did the right thing here, no doubt about that. But we shouldn't be reliant on the chance that there is an armed officer in the right place at the right time for situations like this.

It's good to know most people see that this was the correct action. But still, I've seen some sm comments and some articles scratching and clawing, subtly mixing words to make it sound like another "wrongful police act" or whatever they call it.

We did what we could do. What more could we do? Why was the judge lenient? Why didn't they have a place to send her? Why did the officer hesitate?

The answers are there for the taking. You don't sniff a jug of sour milk and still drink it.

[Busguy2010]

Finally, while I don't at all disagree with the use of force by OPD, seeing all the people online acting like she was some wild animal that needed to be put down and deserved to die is disappointing. She was a human being with people who loved and cared about her, and she fell through the cracks. What she did was terrible, there's no disputing that, but to have no empathy for this woman who was failed by the systems that are supposed to protect both her and the rest of society is again disappointing.

Can you be sure of that? She only tried to kill her father

[locoluke]

What more could we do? Why was the judge lenient? Why didn't they have a place to send her? Why did the officer hesitate?

The answers are there for the taking. You don't sniff a jug of sour milk and still drink it.

It's easy to ask these questions, but it's a lot harder to answer them. These are complex issues. The conditions that create them have been decades in the making, and no two people with mental health issues are exactly the same.

A lot of folks in this state are willing to drink the sour milk if it's cheaper and easier than going out to buy a new jug of milk. It certainly doesn't help when the milk company is lobbying for everyone to drink sour milk because it's easier and cheaper for the milk company to sell sour milk than invest in what's required to bring fresh milk to market.

[locoluke]

Finally, while I don't at all disagree with the use of force by OPD, seeing all the people online acting like she was some wild animal that needed to be put down and deserved to die is disappointing. She was a human being with people who loved and cared about her, and she fell through the cracks. What she did was terrible, there's no disputing that, but to have no empathy for this woman who was failed by the systems that are supposed to protect both her and the rest of society is again disappointing.

Can you be sure of that? She only tried to kill her father

The priest she attacked sure seems to have some empathy for her, and, as far as her being failed by the system goes,he seems to agree.

[Busguy2010]

What more could we do? Why was the judge lenient? Why didn't they have a place to send her? Why did the officer hesitate?

The answers are there for the taking. You don't sniff a jug of sour milk and still drink it.

A lot of folks in this state are willing to drink the sour milk if it's cheaper and easier than going out to buy a new jug of milk. It certainly doesn't help when the milk company is lobbying for everyone to drink sour milk because it's easier and cheaper for the milk company to sell sour milk than invest in what's required to bring fresh milk to market.

I like that lol. You can also tuck em into bed, feed them, read them bedtime stories and they still throw poopoo on the walls.

I do envy the priest's empathy. He said something like "I'm glad she's found the peace she's needed". I'm glad for that too. There's literally just some people there's not enough help for.

[Garrett]

We did what we could do. What more could we do? Why was the judge lenient? Why didn't they have a place to send her? Why did the officer hesitate?

These are all questions government is supposed to be interested in answering. Did we do all we could do? If the kid had been more seriously injured or killed, would we be saying "Welp, we did what we could"?

The Flatwater Free Press did an excellent story last year about the failings of the mental health system in Douglas County, particularly noting that a lot of these failings come down to a lack of funding and enforcement mechanisms. In short, the Nebraska side of the metro only has about 1/4th of the recommended number of beds for people in psychiatric crises. Nebraska also lacks a statewide mental health plan, which means it doesn't receive Medicaid funding for things like transitional housing after patients leave care.

These are systemic failures that we know about.

https://flatwaterfreepress.org/just-bro ... ilies-say/

[Busguy2010]

We need more background info on her, which I'm wating on. She could be from Iowa or somewhere out there. Ill be shocked if she went to school in Omaha or Nebraska. That character just doesn't strike me as "us".

[Garrett]

As we all know schizophrenia has never happened in Omaha and only originates in Iowa.

[Busguy2010]

In this particular case we dont know yet.

I take pride in being born and raised in Omaha, and I'm still here. When |expletive| like this happens here, yeah, it kinda upsets me off. You don't want to see Omaha hit the national news if she wasn't even here. No pride, no respect, just abuse. Im still waiting.

[Busguy2010]

I'll eat worms if im wrong. I'll even buy them from that Walmart.

[almighty_tuna]

That character just doesn't strike me as "us".

Man, wait until you learn about Charles Starkweather, the lynching of Will Brown, the Brandon Teena murder, the one governor who gave his mistress $2M...."us" does some pretty |expletive| up things.

[bbinks]

Well according to Pillen, this was all caused by phones and social media, and there was nothing the government could have done

https://www.ketv.com/article/nebraska-l ... e/71029647

What a total TOOL. Again, I didn't vote for this clown show. What an ignorant, egotistical thing to say. She should NOT have been free to roam the streets, that's all there is to it. Started her dad on fire, broke into a church and made a priest hide for his life.

BTW, love how Pillen had someone die on his farm that was basically just brushed under the rug... was that caused by the internet as well?

Start with the state Legislature. Judges can only do so much.

[Greg S]

Back to back weekends with issues at Leahy Mall downtown:

https://www.wowt.com/2026/06/01/omaha-p ... eahy-mall/

[thenewguy]

kids ruinin it for everyone

[djc311]

https://www.ketv.com/article/ralston-fa ... n/71495546

Guy killed at a Kwik Shop in Ralston.

So the end of the story says police claim "There is no threat to the public at this time." However, they state they're searching for a suspect.

Call me crazy, but if they don't have the suspect and don't know where they are at, but they just shot and killed someone... isn't that something everyone should be worried about?

It's either poor reporting or misinformation at the time of publishing the story.

[almighty_tuna]

Call me crazy, but if they don't have the suspect and don't know where they are at, but they just shot and killed someone... isn't that something everyone should be worried about?

I would reasonably assume that this was deemed to be a conflict limited to the two parties involved, not a random perpetrator who may be looking for their next target. Therefore, not a threat to the public at large.

[Greg S]

Call me crazy, but if they don't have the suspect and don't know where they are at, but they just shot and killed someone... isn't that something everyone should be worried about?

I would reasonably assume that this was deemed to be a conflict limited to the two parties involved, not a random perpetrator who may be looking for their next target. Therefore, not a threat to the public at large.

That's exactly what I thought and traditionally what that means.

[djc311]

Call me crazy, but if they don't have the suspect and don't know where they are at, but they just shot and killed someone... isn't that something everyone should be worried about?

I would reasonably assume that this was deemed to be a conflict limited to the two parties involved, not a random perpetrator who may be looking for their next target. Therefore, not a threat to the public at large.

That's exactly what I thought and traditionally what that means.

I suppose that makes some sense - however, let's say you came across the perpetrator at another gas station, WalMart, McDonald's and you cut him in line, take is drink cup, etc... if he already murdered someone else today, wouldn't one argue there's at least a slightly elevated likelihood he/she could do it again if easily triggered?

I don't know - just seems like if someone gets shot and killed then they may be at a point they don't care if they do it again.

[Garrett]

Has Omaha been having issues with “Teen takeovers” like other cities?

[Greg S]

Has Omaha been having issues with “Teen takeovers” like other cities?

Nothing like I have seen reported St Louis and Chicago. They have had issues at Leahy Mall with large groups of teens being unruly but I don't think it's to the point of what I'd call a "teen takeover." It has been consistent enough though that we are getting to the point where something needs to be done. The security that MECA provides to Leahy doesn't seem adequate for the teen crowds and the police union seems to have had enough.

They have smaller issues out west during summer months. A lot at Target parking lots on Maple and Center. Once Gretna gets theirs I am sure that will be added as well. Not sure the attraction to Target parking lots but West O and suburban metro kids definitely are attracted to them.

[TitosBuritoBarn]

Nothing like I have seen reported St Louis and Chicago.

One of the things the St. Louis local media mentions but doesn't really highlight is that more than not, the teens participating in the "takeovers" in St. Louis are overwhelmingly suburbanites. I wonder to what degree that is the case with what's been going on at Gene Leahy Mall.

[OracleOfOmaha]

Nothing like I have seen reported St Louis and Chicago.

One of the things the St. Louis local media mentions but doesn't really highlight is that more than not, the teens participating in the "takeovers" in St. Louis are overwhelmingly suburbanites. I wonder to what degree that is the case with what's been going on at Gene Leahy Mall.

The opposite

[Big E]

Rural?

[bbinks]

We did what we could do. What more could we do? Why was the judge lenient? Why didn't they have a place to send her? Why did the officer hesitate?

These are all questions government is supposed to be interested in answering. Did we do all we could do? If the kid had been more seriously injured or killed, would we be saying "Welp, we did what we could"?

The Flatwater Free Press did an excellent story last year about the failings of the mental health system in Douglas County, particularly noting that a lot of these failings come down to a lack of funding and enforcement mechanisms. In short, the Nebraska side of the metro only has about 1/4th of the recommended number of beds for people in psychiatric crises. Nebraska also lacks a statewide mental health plan, which means it doesn't receive Medicaid funding for things like transitional housing after patients leave care.

These are systemic failures that we know about.

https://flatwaterfreepress.org/just-bro ... ilies-say/

Robbie Hawkins is an unfortunate example of someone who was failed by the system.

[Greg S]

Holy cow Omaha Scanner is having a banner weekend.

[Busguy2010]

Holy cow Omaha Scanner is having a banner weekend.

I've never gone and listened. I don't really even know where to access it, but I thought to last night. You all know my hatred for the motorcycle group that hangs out at 77th & Dodge, usually they're tune-out-able. But my assumption is some out of towners, crotch rocket gang types came to the club the out do the home boys. I couldnt tell if they were having an exhaust popping battle, or if it was automatic firearm shots. They were going until at least midnight last night. It just baffles me how somehow theres no way to stop them? I see the police chasing them all the time, yet they never stop.

[Greg S]

Holy cow Omaha Scanner is having a banner weekend.

I've never gone and listened. I don't really even know where to access it, but I thought to last night. You all know my hatred for the motorcycle group that hangs out at 77th & Dodge, usually they're tune-out-able. But my assumption is some out of towners, crotch rocket gang types came to the club the out do the home boys. I couldnt tell if they were having an exhaust popping battle, or if it was automatic firearm shots. They were going until at least midnight last night. It just baffles me how somehow theres no way to stop them? I see the police chasing them all the time, yet they never stop.

Yeah for Omaha Scanner I was referring to the twitter page (they are also on Facebook) that follows and posts:

https://x.com/omaha_scanner

[CBJason]

Well this is a good look...

https://www.espn.com/college-sports/sto ... -ahead-cws

[remline]

Well this is a good look...

https://www.espn.com/college-sports/sto ... -ahead-cws

Indeed. This reminds me of similar news from a few days ago: England World Cup gear stolen from team van in Kansas City.

"Yesterday, officials in Kansas City learned at some point between their over-the-road transport from Florida to their arrival at the training facility in Kansas City, goods belonging to the English national team were stolen," said Quinton Lucas, the mayor of Kansas City, Missouri.