Witness describes moments gunfire erupted inside gas station during shooting that injured Omaha police officers
A witness inside the QuikTrip during Wednesday's shooting that hurt three Omaha police officers told KETV he was feet away when it happened.Ryan Higgins said he was right by the bathroom when Omaha police and a man got into a shootout. Two officers were hit by gunfire, and another was injured by shrapnel. The officers have non-life-threatening injuries. The suspect was shot and killed by officers.Watch: Broadcastify audio provides more insight into shooting that injured 3 officersHiggins stopped at the gas station on 32nd and L streets to grab a drink. He had just reached the soda fountain when he saw multiple officers walk in."They kind of stacked up on the bathroom door, had their guns drawn, and, so I backed off about five feet," Higgins said.Then, seconds later, Higgins said 20 to 30 shots were fired. READ MORE: Three Omaha police officers injured in shooting, suspect dead after incident at a QuikTrip"It was just kind of chaos, kind of chaotic. So I backed up another five, 10 feet, kind of bunkered down behind a shelf there. And then I saw an officer get dragged out by the back of his vest. They screamed, 'Officer down,'" Higgins said. "You don't really have time to think. I just backed off and, you know, kind of hope for the best. "At that point, Higgins says he was in shock."I do remember one guy was to the left of me, but other than that, kind of get tunnel vision, you don't really know what's going on around you," Higgins said.Watch: Omaha police say suspect in grocery store shooting killed during officer-involved incidentHiggins said he knew he needed to get out and exited the building on the opposite end of the shooting."My car was actually right, right over where it happened. So I circled the back of the building to see if I could get my car," Higgins said.That's when he snapped a photo showing officers still entering the west entrance of the gas station. And in the left center of the photo — is Higgins' car — just feet away. "I wanted to get out of there, and that I heard another volley," Higgins said.He said he retreated further back in the parking lot. "When that second volley went off. I would have been in the line of fire. I'm glad QT has a brick exterior, because I'm sure that stopped all the bullets," Higgins said.Higgins said eventually the gunfire stopped, and he was able to get into his car.READ MORE: Nebraska leaders react to shooting that injured 3 officers, killed suspectHe gave his statement to police, then called his mom on his way home. "I'm thankful that the cops got in there and stopped the threat because who knows what would have happened. I feel, you know, I'm relatively okay in spite of it," Higgins said.Higgins said his best advice, if you ever find yourself in a similar situation, find the nearest exit and leave. He said nothing is worth your life.Make sure you can always see the latest news, weather, sports and more from KETV NewsWatch 7 on Google search.NAVIGATE: Home | Weather | Local News | National | Sports | Newscasts on demand |
