MAN SHOOTS 7 NEIGHBOURS, INCLUDING 4 KIDS, AFTER TELLING THEM 'GO BACK TO WHERE YOU CAME FROM'

A man is accused of shooting seven of his neighbours, including children, in what appears to be a racially charged rampage before fatally shooting himself. 74 year old Billy Booth allegedly harboured animosity towards his Hispanic neighbours, reportedly telling them to "go back to where they came from" and demanding they "speak English," police claim.

The violent outburst occurred on Friday evening within Booth's own home in Crete, leaving four youngsters, aged three to 10, and three adults, between 22 and 43, wounded. Miraculously, none of the victims sustained fatal injuries, but Booth was discovered deceased at the scene with a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Approximately 15 individuals were present at Booth's Crestline Drive residence during the attack.

While most were outside, at least one person was struck by gunfire inside the house. Among those injured was Alberto Bautista, who, along with his wife and grandson, was shot as children played outdoors, the Lexington Clipper-Herald reports. Six victims required hospital, and a seventh only later realised they had been hit, reports the Mirror US.

Four have since been discharged, while three remain under medical supervision, with two children being treated at an Omaha paediatric hospital.

SWAT teams descended on the scene, initially believing they were dealing with a barricaded suspect. Colonel John Bolduc of the Nebraska State Patrol clarified: "It was quickly determined that all gunfire had come from a single residence at 1810 Parkland Street."

Police stormed into a home at about 6.40pm, finding Booth deceased with a shotgun nearby, NBC News reports. "Preliminary investigation shows that all rounds fired by Booth came from inside of his house," Bolduc stated, before noting that "investigators are still actively working this investigation to understand everything that occurred, but at this point, we don't believe there was any verbal contact between the suspect and any of the victims in the moments that led up to the shooting."

It has emerged that Booth had a history of disputes with the families of the victims, with numerous complaints dating back to 2021, most of which were lodged by the now-deceased. Crete Police Chief Gary Young Jr remarked: "Not necessarily associated with the victims' house, but cars driving too fast in the neighborhood, improper parking, nuisance properties, quality-of-life type issues."

Young also disclosed, "There was a single report from the victims that the suspect had flipped them off, told them to 'Go home' or 'back to where they came from,' to 'Speak English.'" At the time, the family decided not to take the issues further, police said.

Joshua Morales, who was close to one of the families targeted, spoke to KETV about previous altercations with Booth, suggesting a racial element to the attack. He recounted, "[Booth] was supposedly telling [the friend's] parents to go back to their country, and they got into problems. And I guess until now the dude just shot the house up. I guess it was just a racist thing that happened. So, I guess the dude that shot them was just racist 'cause he shot a Hispanic family and he told a Hispanic family to go back to their country."

Addressing whether race was a factor, Young said: "There could be, we don't know. Certainly the context of 'Go home' and 'Speak English' lends itself to that," adding that the investigation into Booth's motives is still active. Police are urging anyone with information to step forward.

2024-07-01T20:55:30Z dg43tfdfdgfd