A man who entered a crowded Nebraska Target store armed with an AR-15-style weapon was shot by police less than 10 minutes after firing his first round, according to a schedule released Friday.
No one else was injured, and the timeline does not mention Joseph Jones shooting any of the customers or workers directly. Jones’ uncle, Larry Derksen Jr., said his niece had schizophrenia and his mental illness left him isolated. Police offered no motive, but Derksen said he suspected his nephew wanted police to kill him.
It all started Tuesday morning when Jones, 32, stopped by the Omaha store. He removed a cardboard shipping box from his vehicle and entered the supermarket entrance at 11:56 a.m. wearing a dark-colored coat and hat, according to police.
NEBRASKA ARMED MAN SHOT BY POLICE IN GUN PURCHASED 4 DAYS BEFORE
Once inside, he walked through the pharmacy area, abandoning the shipping box. At 11:58 a.m., Jones pointed a rifle at a Target employee. He then aimed it into the air, firing a round, before walking towards the front of the store. There, he fired another two rounds before removing his coat and firing at the self-checkout lane and a beverage cooler.
That’s when Douglas County officials received the first 911 call from one of the roughly 250 guests and workers inside the store, according to the timeline.
Police said Jones fired several rounds from inside the grocery store lobby, briefly exiting and reentering the store. He then started walking around the store with the rifle.
A Nebraska gunman who opened fire inside an Omaha Target before being killed by police had yet to shoot anyone before he died, a report says.
(Chris Machian/Omaha World-Herald via AP)
Police said the first officers on the scene included Officer Brian Vanderheiden, a 20-year veteran of the city’s police force, along with a Nebraska State Trooper, who entered at 12:05 p.m. and encountered Jones. .
Vanderheiden and the policeman ordered him to drop the rifle more than 20 times.
Jones refused, saying three times, “Come on!” After Jones said “I’ll kill you”, Vanderheiden fired a round, striking and killing Jones.
Mental health experts say that most people with mental illness are not violent. They are far more likely to be victims of violent crime than perpetrators, and access to firearms is a big part of the problem.
NEBRASKA POLICE SHOOTING AND KILLING HEAVILY-ARMED MAN AT OMAHA TARGET
“If you wanted to hurt someone, you had time to do it. In my opinion, this was really a suicide by a police officer,” Derksen said. “I don’t think there was any intention in his mind that he really thought he was going to harm someone at any given time even though his actions traumatized people.”
Police said Jones obtained the gun just four days earlier at a Cabela’s sporting goods store.
Vanderheiden was immediately placed on paid administrative leave per department policy.
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State law requires a grand jury to be convened when someone is killed while under arrest. And once the investigation is complete, the case will go before the jury, police said.
