Seven people were injured, including four children between the ages of three to ten, during a shooting in Crete, Nebraska, on Friday afternoon.
The suspect, Billy Booth, 74, was later found dead inside his house across the street from what authorities said was a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
The shooting occurred at approximately 4:30 pm on a residential property on Crestline Drive in Crete, according to Nebraska State Patrol Captain Sean Caradori.
“It appears that all the victims of the shooting will survive,” Caradori said during a news conference Friday.
Colonel John A. Bolduc of Nebraska State Patrol confirmed on Saturday during a press conference that “multiple rounds were fired” by Booth from inside his house. They do not know the exact number of shots fired.
Bolduc said that they do not believe any verbal contact occurred between Booth and any of the victims in the moments leading up to the shooting.
However, there was prior history between Booth and the victims’ families, police said.
Nebraska Crete Police Chief Gary Young said there was a report back in May in which the victims claimed that Booth flipped them off, told them to go back to where they came from and told them to speak English.
When asked if investigators think the shooting was racially motivated, Young responded, “There could be, we don’t know. Certainly the context of ‘Go home’ and ‘Speak English’ lends itself to that.”
Authorities initially believed six people were injured, but “a seventh patient realized he had been injured later in the evening,” Bolduc revealed.
The victims were transported to the Crete Area Medical Center with some victims later being transferred to other medical centers for further care.
“All of the injuries are consistent with shotgun blast injuries,” Bolduc said.
He added that “most of the victims were outside of the home at the time of the shooting, but at least one was inside the home when they were struck.”
Although all victims are expected to survive, Bolduc noted that “recovery will be a long road for some of them.”
A friend of one of the victims spoke to ABC affiliate KETV and claimed the shooter had previously made incendiary remarks before he “shot the house up.” He said that the shooter shot his friend, as well as his friend’s mom four times in her back.
According to Boldouc, officers heard “one single gunshot” in a home across the street from where the victims were found. They later discovered Booth deceased from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.
They also uncovered two firearms in the house, yet only one shotgun is believed to have been used during this incident. To Boldouc’s knowledge, Booth was legally allowed to possess a firearm.
“All gunfire had come from a single residence at 1810 Parkland Street.” Bolduc said, which was Booth’s home and the location in which he was found.
Investigators do not believe there are any additional suspects involved. Investigators said they are still trying to determine a motive and the probe is ongoing.
Crete Police officers, Saline County deputies, Nebraska State Troopers and Nebraska Game and Parks officers had responded to the scene, in addition to fire departments of neighboring towns.
The Nebraska State Police SWAT Team responded with multiple armored vehicles, and Caradori said they “breached the door of the home where the gunshots came from” at approximately 6:40 pm.
Caradori confirmed that no law enforcement officials fired weapons.
“I want all of Crete to know that this situation has been resolved and there’s no threat to the public,” Caradori said.
