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Omaha Mall Shooting: Who are the gunmen? Trequez Swift, 21, dead and 1 hurt as cops seek help to find suspects

People who were working or shopping in the mall took cover and locked themselves inside stores as a safety precaution before the police arrived

OMAHA, NEBRASKA: A person died after being shot at Westroads Mall in Omaha, Nebraska, on Saturday, April 17, according to the police. A press release by the Omaha Police Department stated that the injured man was transported by ambulance to Bergan Mercy Hospital in critical condition but he succumbed to his injuries. The victim was later identified as Trequez Swift, 21.

An adult female later walked into Immanuel Hospital with non-life-threatening bullet wounds and said she was shot at the mall, according to the police. She was later identified as Ja'Keya Veland. The police is now seeking the help of the public to identify the culprits.

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Who were the gunmen?

Officers searched Westroads Mall in Omaha in a failed attempt to find the shooters after the shooting outside a JCPenney store. The Omaha Police Department tweeted that they "fled the scene and are at large".

“What we did find from security footage is that the suspects fled from the mall; we are looking for those suspects; we are still working on identifying them,” Lt Neal Bonacci said at a news conference. According to him, investigators are searching surveillance cameras and other videos to narrow down details on any potential perpetrators.

What happened?

Around midday on Saturday, April 17, a shooting occurred in the mall outside JCPenney. Several shots were confirmed by witnesses. Many people who were working or shopping in the mall took cover and even locked themselves inside stores as a safety precaution before the police arrived. They were all able to leave just over an hour after the shooting.  According to Bonacci, the victims were shot outside JCPenney in “one of the longer hallways” between shops. When the OPD forensics unit arrived at the scene, much of the mall parking lot had been cleaned out by 1.35 pm, with more rescue services clearing out by 2.22 pm.

KETV stated that officials originally defined the case as a "potential active shooter" incident, but by 1.15 pm, they had concluded that there was no longer a problem. "It’s not an active shooter incident," Bonacci said in a news conference as reported by WOWT. "It looked somewhat isolated." The mall reopened for a short time before closing for the day. The police tweeted: "Shooting Incident at Westroads Mall. One victim was transported to the hospital with critical injuries. Suspects fled the scene and are at large. OPD is searching the entire mall as a precaution. Please avoid the area. A press release will be sent later with more information."

The shooting occurred at noon, as confirmed by the University of Nebraska at Omaha Department of Public Safety, in a note to the campus population. The shopping center is about a mile away from the campus. Students were urged to steer clear from the mall. As part of the investigation into the homicide, OPD sent a photo, stating that homicide investigators were searching for evidence about the individuals seen.

Witnesses or those with questions about the shooting, including something seen on social media, can contact Omaha Crime Stoppers at 402-444-STOP.