1st-degree murder charges were filed Tuesday against a Lincoln teenager accused of shooting a Lincoln police officer who died after nearly 2 weeks in the hospital.
17-year old Filipe Vazquez had already been charged with 2nd-degree assault of a peace officer, but the charge was increased after police investigator Mario Herrera died early Monday morning.
Herrera, a plainclothes officer, was shot as he sought to serve an arrest warrant on Vazquez in the March stabbing death of 36-year-old Edward Varejcka. Authorities said they have tied Vazquez and at least 2 other people to Varejcka’s death.
Lincoln Mayor Leirion Gaylor Baird has declared a period of mourning for Herrera through Friday and Governor Pete Ricketts has ordered flags across the state to half-staff until sunset on Friday, which is Patriots Day.