Following the conclusion of the Grand Jury in the death of Aaron Schneider, the Dodge County Attorney Office wanted to clarify the facts established by the investigation by the Nebraska State Patrol.
Dodge County Attorney Paul Vaughan highlighted the following points in a press release on Thursday afternoon.
- Schneider never fired any shots from the weapon he was brandishing toward police officers on May 14, 2021. He never fired any shots randomly at houses in the area.
- Schneider was armed with a realistic “Glock CO2 powered BB gun” which is marketed to have the appearance of a real Glock handgun.
- At 3:22 p.m. on May 14, Schneider called 911 advising that he was suicidal, and he he had a gun. Police were dispatched to his location at that time while the dispatcher attempted to encourage Schneider to put down his weapon and exit his home peacefully.
- At 3:33 p.m., Schneider exited the back door of the home he was calling from and pointed his weapon at two police officers who retreated behind a tree and around the back of a neighboring home. The officers shouted commands to Schneider to drop his weapon, which he refused to do.
- At 3:34 p.m., one officer fired his handgun at Schneider but missed. Other officers were arriving at the scene at about this time and mistakenly believed Schneider had shot at the first arriving officers.
- Schneider was talking with the dispatcher through his open phone line and a Bluetooth earbud he was wearing throughout the event. He asked the dispatcher where the officers were as they were taking evasive actions. The dispatcher was able to tell the officers what Schneider was telling her.
- Despite being fired at, Schneider continued to advance on and look for the officers while brandishing his weapon.
- Schneider continued advancing on officers and refused to drop his weapon. He continued aiming at officers despite multiple commands from multiple officers on the scene to drop the weapon.
- At 3:37 p.m., three officers simultaneously fired at Schneider causing him to fall to the street.
- Officers immediately began lifesaving measures. Schneider was transported to Methodist Fremont Health where he was pronounced dead at 3:57 p.m.
