*Jake Gardner, the white bar owner who fatally shot a 22-year-old Black man during a Black Lives Matter protest in Omaha on May 30, has reportedly died by suicide.
An earlier report on EURweb noted that the alleged white supremacist had been charged with multiple felonies, including manslaughter in the killing of James Scurlock.Â
In a press release shared on Sunday, the Hillsboro Police Department stated:
Hillsboro Police Department officers responded to the 300 block of Southeast Ninth Avenue after a body was found outside a medical clinic. They discovered 38-year-old Jacob Gardner of Omaha, Nebraska dead.
The cause of death is under investigation, but officers are not seeking any suspects and there is no danger to the community.
Gardner was indicted by a Douglas County, Nebraska grand jury last week on charges stemming from the May 30 shooting death of James Scurlock in Omaha.
READ MORE: ‘Racist’ White Bar Owner Charged in Fatal Shooting of Black Protester in Omaha
The grand jury rejected Gardner’s claims that he acted in self-defense. He also faced charges of attempted first-degree assault and making terroristic threats.Â
Douglas County Attorney Don Kleine refused to bring any charges against Gardner, citing self-defense. The case was then presented to a grand jury led by special prosecutor Fredrick D. Franklin..Â
“There was evidence that was gathered and presented to the grand jury about activity that Jake Gardner was engaged in prior to even coming in contact with James Scurlock,” Franklin said. “Evidence to reasonably be construed as an intent to use a firearm for purposes of killing someone. You will want to know what it is, and I can’t tell you about it. But what I can tell you is that that evidence comes primarily from Jake Gardner himself.”
A Yahoo News exclusive story outlined how a rushed investigation overlooked signs of Gardner’s racist past.
The quick decision to initially not file charges was viewed by many in the community as an example of the ingrained racism within the criminal justice system that has been the subject of nationwide protests.
Attorney Stu Dornan said Gardner “took his own life at his own hand.”
“Unfortunately there are two men who have died in a terrible tragedy,” Dornan said at a news confernece, Complex reports. “It’s a terrible tragedy for the Omaha community. It’s a terrible tragedy for James Scurlock and his family. Our condolences are with them and the condolences are with the Gardner family. It’s a terrible tragedy for the Gardner family and a terrible tragedy for this community.”
Gardner was reportedly facing 95 years in prison for the slaying of James Scurlock.Â
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