OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — A citizen and an OPD Deputy Chief stopped a man who walked into a West Omaha Hy-Vee and started shooting.
At about 6:30 pm March 17, police say Jacob Muhle, 21, shot at vehicles in the pharmacy drive-thru at the Hy-Vee on 180th & Q Streets. He then allegedly walked in the store and kept shooting.
Tom Wenzl says he warned people and they scattered, but he looked for an opportunity to help stop the suspect. He hid behind a register and tackled the suspect to the ground when he walked by.
"I was on ‘Beast Mode’ I guess. I said, 'Ok man we got to do this. Let's go,'" Wenzl explained.
Off-duty OPD Deputy Chief Scott Gray pointed his weapon at the suspect as Wenzl tackled him. They both got the gun from him. Deputy Chief Gray says he's trained for active shooter situations but wanted to praise Wenzl.
"He's just a guy that felt that something had to be done right then to stop this and he took action, so I mean the guy's a hero in my mind because he didn't think about himself, he just went for it, and dove on the guy," Dep. Chief Gray described.
Muhle has been booked for 11 felonies including multiple Use of a Weapon to Commit a Felony charges, and Terroristic Threats.
Both Gray and Wenzl say that the alleged shooter didn’t seem to be firing his weapon at people as much as objects and that he put the gun to his head but didn’t pull the trigger.
Gray broke his hand during the scuffle, but other than that no one was seriously injured.
Muhle is at the Douglas County Jail. He will have a bond hearing on Thursday.
