NORTH PLATTE, Neb. — A domestic dispute turned deadly late Thursday night, leaving two brothers dead after an hours-long standoff with law enforcement in North Platte.
According to the North Platte Police Department, officers responded around 11:15 p.m. on July 11 to a residence in the 1600 block of West 2nd Street following a report that one brother had shot and killed the other inside the home they shared.
When officers arrived, the suspect initially came to the door but then shut it and barricaded himself inside. Members of the North Platte Police Department and the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office secured the area and began negotiations with the suspect.
Investigators learned that an 11-year-old boy — believed to be the suspect’s son — was also inside the house. Negotiations continued overnight, and the suspect eventually confirmed to law enforcement that his brother was dead and the child was still with him.
Around 9:45 a.m. Friday, the suspect agreed to release the child, who was safely removed from the scene.
Shortly afterward, officers heard what they believed was a gunshot from inside the home. Law enforcement tactically entered and found the 39-year-old suspect dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. His 37-year-old brother was also located inside and appeared to have died from a gunshot wound.
Because the home was under law enforcement control at the time of the suspect’s death, the incident is considered an in-custody death and will be presented to a grand jury, per Nebraska law. The Nebraska State Patrol has taken over the investigation.