Douglas County leaders came together to provide more details about a Sunday night shooting at Douglas County Corrections.
Monday afternoon, Douglas County Corrections Director Mike Myers and Capt. Eric Sellers with the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office held a press conference about the shooting.
The Douglas County Sheriff's Office says 22 year old Brandon Jennings was taken into custody by Omaha Police Sunday night on charges of robbery and domestic violence assault. According to Myers, a search was done by officer before they took him into custody and the gun was missed, which Myers says can happen before a more thorough search is conducted at the jail.
Myers says once at the jail, Jennings became combative and uncooperative. Myers says a small caliber handgun was then discovered during a strip search and Jennings started to threaten staffers with the gun. Myers says Jennings then retreated into another dressing room, where inmates are taken to be searched and change into jail clothes. While Jennings was in the other room, staff members reported hearing a single gunshot, according to Myers. Jennings reportedly shot himself once in the head, but was found conscious and alert.
Jennings was taken to Nebraska Med for treatment, where he remains in stable condition, according to Capt. Sellers.
Sellers says the investigation is ongoing, with many interviews to be conducted and surveillance video to review. Myers says that an internal investigation is being conducted about their booking procedure and they will be working with Omaha Police, the Sheriff's Office and other law enforcement agencies to, "conduct a thorough review of all arrest and booking procedures to prevent an incident like this from ocurring in the future."
“Most importantly, we are grateful that the brave women and men of the Douglas County Department of Corrections were not physically harmed, though they are understandably shaken up by this incident,” said Mike Myers, director of Douglas County Department of Corrections. “We have a lot of information to analyze and discuss both internally and with the Omaha Police Department to ensure we never have a repeat of this event.”