James Scurlock, a 22-year-old black man,ย was fatally shot outside of a bar in Omaha, Nebraska on Saturday night, and a man connected to the shooting has been taken into custody. Theย Omaha World-Heraldย reports thatย Scurlock was shot and killed during a protest, and the owner of the bar the Hive is allegedly responsible.
Scurlock was taken to a nearby hospital where he was pronounced dead, while the unnamed bar owner is being questioned by police.
"Last night, I lost a son," said Scurlock's father James on Sunday. "My kids lost a brother. His daughter lost a father. All because he decided to protest against racism. There's a lot of speculation and rumors about how this happened. I don't really care to be honest.ย My family wants closure and peace. ... What we want is for this to go to court and get a full prosecution. We want this to go with justice and go peacefully."ย
While police have yet to publicly identify the alleged shooter,ย Omaha World-Heraldย reported that it was Jake Gardner. He's also the owner of a second bar in Omaha, the Gatsby, and has described himself as a libertarian in the past. Additionally, Gardner is a former Marineย and volunteered for the Trump campaign in 2016,ย the Daily Beastย reports.ย
Officers were not involved in the shooting, and police chief Todd Schmaderer called it a "terrible incident."ย
BuzzFeed Newsย reports that the alleged shooter yelled racial slurs before firing his gun. Protesters in downtown Omaha gathered on Sunday to hold a vigil for Scurlockย on the street he was killed, breaking curfew to do so.
