A Douglas County judge ordered a 14-year-old boy accused of shooting and seriously wounding a 15-year-old boy at Omaha Northwest High School held on $275,000 bail.
Ramone Jefferson must post $27,500 – 10% of bail – to be released from the Douglas County Youth Center. He was charged as an adult with first-degree assault, use of a firearm to commit a crime and unlawful possession of a weapon on school property. The incident is related to the alleged shooting and wounding of the boy, identified by Omaha police as Jamorion Fant, in a school hallway on Tuesday.
The shooting happened around 12:20 p.m. Tuesday. Security camera footage showed Fant approaching Jefferson and the two engaging in a physical altercation, according to an Omaha police officer’s affidavit. The affidavit states Jefferson reached into the front pocket of his hoodie with his right hand and then appeared to fire a concealed weapon once through the hoodie.
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Fant was struck in the upper body, according to the affidavit. He tried to run away and then fell to the ground. The affidavit states Jefferson left the high school and ran through surrounding neighborhoods before police arrested him a few blocks northeast of the school, which is on the corner of 82nd Street and Crown Point Avenue.
Paramedics took Fant to a local hospital for serious injuries. Police said he is in stable condition.
At Jefferson’s first court appearance Wednesday afternoon, his attorney, Assistant Douglas County Public Defender Benjamin Westhoff, Jefferson’s mother, who appeared in the courtroom alongside Jefferson, told police that Jefferson had been the target of “persistent and excessive bullying” at school, to the extent that she was in the process of transferring Jefferson to another school.
“This is not a random act,” Westhoff said of the shooting. “I believe that this 14-year-old had serious problems at school before the alleged acts.”
Westhoff and Jefferson’s mother did not answer questions from the media after the hearing. Jefferson’s next court date is scheduled for October 16 for a preliminary hearing.
Northwest High School and other schools in the area were placed on lockdown following Tuesday’s shooting. Jefferson was arrested by police less than an hour after the shooting.
Omaha Public Schools canceled classes at Northwest High School on Wednesday. Students are scheduled to return to school on Thursday.
Omaha Public Schools Superintendent Matt Ray said Tuesday that staff would thoroughly review the circumstances of the shooting, including evaluating current and possible new security measures.
The shooting in Northwest occurred less than a week after two students and two teachers were shot at Apalachee High School in Georgia.
Photos: Police respond to shooting at Omaha Northwest High School
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