A man was rushed to a Lincoln hospital Wednesday morning after cutting his neck with a piece of broken glass inside the Hall of Justice in downtown Lincoln. The injury happened moments after a judge revoked his bond, meaning he was headed back to jail, and deputies moved in fast to get him into custody and arrange medical help.
According to klin.com, the incident unfolded on the second floor of the courthouse right after the bond ruling came down. The man pulled the glass from his pocket and cut his own neck in front of deputies, who the station reports quickly took him into custody and got medical assistance to him. As York News-Times also reported, no other people were injured in the incident.
Injury Described as Non-Life-Threatening
Deputies responded quickly inside the courtroom, and the sheriff's office says all of them remained safe, with no law enforcement officers injured in the encounter. The man's injuries were described as not life-threatening, though he is expected to need stitches, per the same account. He was taken to a local hospital and was expected to be returned to jail once treatment was finished.
The man's age was not immediately available, and the circumstances surrounding how he obtained the glass remain under investigation, the station notes. The sheriff's office said incidents involving weapons inside the courthouse are uncommon.
Security Screening Questions Remain
An official identified in differing accounts as either Ben Houchin or Ben Fouch addressed how the glass made it past security, saying a piece of glass differs from the edged weapon the equipment is designed to detect. That official also said the man would be taken back to jail following treatment. One version of the quote, attributed to this official, put it this way: “This is the first time an edged weapon has gone through, but again, it is a piece of glass.”
Nebraska's court security standards, laid out by the Nebraska Judicial Branch, require every courtroom to have a panic button and bullet-resistant material behind the judge's bench. Separately, a Lancaster County policy states that anyone found with drugs, drug paraphernalia, illegal weapons or other illegal items at the courthouse's front entrance is to be arrested, while disorderly or intoxicated individuals and those who refuse screening are not allowed to proceed.
Beyond those standards, key details of Wednesday's case remain unresolved. The man's name, his age, the underlying charges that brought him to court, and exactly how the glass entered the building have not been made public, and the incident remains under investigation.
