By Katie Knapp Schubert
Omaha, NE – Authorities say a Valley man shot and killed at Creighton University Medical Center fired a handgun at officers.
Omaha Police responded to Creighton University Medical Center at 9:19 am Wednesday for a report of a despondent man making calls on a pay phone. Officers Lee Kerniskey and Eric Picht, along with Sergeant Lori Schenkelberg and Captain Katherine Belcastro-Gonzales, made contact with 39-year-old Jeffrey Layten.
A news release from OPD says Layten pulled out a handgun and pointed it at officers. He was tased, but managed to fire at two of the officers. Layten was shot inside the hospital's east lobby, across from the cafeteria, and taken in to surgery. He died Wednesday afternoon.
Officer Kerniskey suffered a graze wound to the thigh and Officer Picht was shot in the foot. Both were treated at CUMC and released. Sergeant Schenkelberg and Captain Belcastro-Gonzales were not injured.
Layten allegedly was involved in a domestic assault Tuesday night in Tekamah. Burt County authorities say he left his wife's residence with three guns. He was involved in a police chase and accident at 72nd and Q streets late Tuesday night. After crashing his truck near the Fun Plex, authorities say Layten fled the scene with a gun.
The officers are on administrative leave while the investigation continues. No one else inside the medical center was injured.