On October 21, 2021, Darin L. Koepke, 53, was fatally wounded in a workplace shooting at the Agrex Inc. grain elevator in Superior, Nebraska. Koepke, an assistant regional manager for the company’s western division, was airlifted to Bryan Health West Campus in Lincoln but later died of his injuries. The attack unfolded after a coworker, 61-year-old Max Hoskinson of Superior, who had been terminated earlier that day, returned to the facility with a firearm and opened fire on employees.

The shooting also killed 60-year-old Sandra Nelson of Formoso, Kansas, and left a third person with non-life-threatening injuries. The rampage ended when another Agrex employee retrieved a shotgun and shot Hoskinson, who died at the scene. The Nebraska State Patrol investigated and, after consulting with the Nuckolls County Attorney’s Office and the Nebraska Attorney General’s Office, concluded the employee who shot Hoskinson acted in defense of himself and others; no charges were filed. The investigation determined Hoskinson was the sole shooter.

Koepke’s death devastated a small community and a workplace where colleagues were left to grieve and reckon with the violence that occurred on an otherwise ordinary workday. If anyone has information about Darin’s life, his role at Agrex, or the events that day, please share what you know.