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Jasmine Harris' Family: Shooter should come forward

Posted at 5:11 PM, Jun 05, 2018
and last updated 2018-06-05 18:17:37-04

Family of the innocent bystander shot and killed Saturday night are making a public plea for whoever is responsible to turn themselves in.

Jasmine Harris was 50 feet from her car heading home from the Taste of Omaha, when she was an innocent bystander caught in crossfire from rival gangs. A handful of others were injured, but expected to recover.

Kizzetta Holmes tells us she feels a lot of guilt for having not spoken out about violence in the community sooner, before her niece was shot and killed near the Gene Leahy Mall.

"I never in my wildest dreams thought I would be burying Jasmine," Holmes said. "I thought Jasmine would bury me."

Judith Hill, the program director at YouTurn, says her organization working to de-escalate the violence. They have boots on the ground, working to thwart any retaliation.

"That's why you see them being more brazen in what they're doing, because they're getting younger," Hill said. "And because they're young, they don't think. They act first. and so now you would literally shoot into a group of people."

Omaha police are drawing officers from other units in the department to help support the gang unit.

"Anytime a young person picks up a gun and decides that they're going to resolve a conflict by shooting, the entire community needs to be in an uproar," Hill said.

Both Hill and Holmes say whoever is responsible should turn themselves in to stop the violence.

"I'm heartbroken, I'm devastated, but more than anything, I'm upset," Holmes said. "We want this person to turn themselves in so that the family can know this person is off the street and we don't have to worry about burying someone else's child. Enough is enough."