A 32-year-old man was shot in the head near 13th and C streets in Lincoln's Everett neighborhood just after 11 a.m. Monday, and officers were on scene within two minutes to find him conscious and alert. Within 10 minutes, police had a person of interest in custody and a firearm pulled from a storm drain a few blocks away.
Lincoln Police Assistant Chief Jason Stille told KLIN that 911 dispatchers received the shooting call just after 11 a.m., and responding officers found the victim conscious near the scene. The wound was initially evaluated as life-threatening, Stille said, but medical personnel later determined the bullet did not penetrate the man's skull. KETV reported the shooting occurred near 13th and C streets around 11 a.m. and that investigators believe the man was shot in the head, with his injuries ultimately described as non-life-threatening.
About 10 minutes after officers arrived, police detained a 38-year-old person of interest matching the suspect's description near 12th and B streets, according to the same KLIN report. Officers recovered a firearm from a nearby storm drain in connection with the case. KETV similarly reported that a person of interest was taken into custody and that a firearm was located near him, attributing both details to Lincoln police.
Blood Trail Leads Investigators to Nearby Apartment
Investigators also found a trail of blood leading from a nearby apartment building, and officers planned to enter and investigate the residence, the station's report notes. KETV similarly reported that authorities were investigating an apartment near the shooting scene. Neither outlet has detailed what, if anything, the investigation of the apartment turned up.
The shooting's proximity to Everett Elementary School prompted administrators to take precautions for students. Principal Mike Long placed the school, located one block from the shooting site, on secure status, locking exterior doors and monitoring entrances while classroom instruction continued without interruption, per the same account.
Violent Crime Climbing Even as Overall Crime Falls
The shooting lands amid a broader shift in Lincoln's crime picture. The Lincoln Police Department's 2025 annual review, released in March, found that violent crime in the city rose nearly 32% in 2025 compared to the year before, even as overall crime dropped to a 20-year low, according to Nebraska Public Media. Police Chief Michon Morrow's figures showed Lincoln recorded 91 total shooting incidents in 2025, up from 76 in 2024.
Hoodline reported earlier this month on a separate East Lincoln fight that led to two arrests, with one suspect facing a gun-related felony — part of the same pattern of firearm violence the department's own data has tracked over the past year.
Potential Charges Carry Decades of Exposure
Should Lancaster County prosecutors pursue charges once the apartment investigation concludes, Nebraska law provides for serious penalties in cases involving a gunshot wound. Under Nebraska Revised Statute § 28-308, first-degree assault — intentionally or knowingly causing serious bodily injury to another person — is a Class II felony punishable by 1 to 50 years in prison, according to Justia Law. Separately, using a firearm to commit a felony under Nebraska Revised Statute § 28-1205 is a Class IC felony that carries a mandatory sentence required to run consecutively to any underlying felony conviction, per Liberty Law Group. It remains unclear whether the Lancaster County Attorney's Office will file first-degree assault or weapon-enhancement charges in this case, as that determination awaits the conclusion of the apartment crime scene investigation.
Everett is among Lincoln's oldest residential sectors, with land originally platted during the city's founding in 1867 and a name drawn from Everett School, according to the Everett Neighborhood Association. The area today mixes single-family homes with multi-unit apartment buildings, the same kind of residence where investigators traced Monday's blood trail.
