Sylas Lieb was fatally shot on the evening of February 12, 2020, in a residence near 35th and Hamilton Streets in Omaha, Nebraska. Police were called about 7:15 p.m. and found the 15-year-old sophomore at Omaha Central High School dead from a gunshot wound to his chest. He had been in the home with a 14-year-old friend and an 18-year-old; the group reportedly had been smoking marijuana throughout the day.

The subsequent investigation led to the arrest of the 14-year-old, an eighth-grader, who was booked into the Douglas County Youth Center on suspicion of manslaughter. The 14-year-old said he had found a 9mm firearm at a laundromat a week earlier and that it discharged accidentally while he was cleaning it on his lap. Investigators were told the youth had a habit of pointing the gun at people. Douglas County Attorney Don Kleine described the shooting as unintentional. The suspect was on probation for truancy and had admitted a gang affiliation.

Omaha Central High School provided grief counselors to students and staff after the death. If anyone knew Sylas, his movements that day, or has information about the gun’s origin, please come forward.