Omaha police have released details of the Friday afternoon shooting of an officer by a shoplifting suspect in the security office of a JC Penny store at a mall.
21-year-old Kenya Lamont Jenkins Jr is being held on charges of attempted 1st-degree murder and felony use of a gun while Officer Jeffrey Wittstruck is hospitalized but “stable and recovering.”
Officer Wittstruck’s body camera recorded the entire incident, which included Wittstruck unsuccessfully deploying his Taser on Jenkins, who pulled a gun from his sweatshirt pocket and fired 4 shots at Wittstruck before fleeing.
Mall security cameras recorded Jenkins leaving the mall in a car that was later stopped by police for going about 140 mph headed toward Interstate 80.
Jenkins was taken into custody for speeding, but was soon identified as the shooting suspect. Police also recovered the gun used in the shooting.
Officer Wittstruck’s gun never left its holster and wasn’t fired. He’s been with the Omaha police since September 2016.