On November 26, 1977, Captain Dennis F. Lipari, 39, of the Douglas County Sheriff’s Department in Omaha, Nebraska, was killed while off duty at Club 89. Lipari was dining with his wife and several colleagues when 34-year-old Ulysses Cribbs entered armed with a 12-gauge shotgun and opened fire. Captain Lipari tried to intervene and was fatally shot; 25 other people, including two deputies, were wounded. Lipari’s wife, Ruth Ann Lipari, was among the injured.

Cribbs was apprehended at the scene. He had a documented history of mental illness, had been receiving psychiatric care from the Veterans Administration, and had purchased the shotgun used in the attack from a Sears store in Bellevue in September 1977. He resumed psychiatric treatment after buying the gun but discontinued it in October 1977. Cribbs was later found incompetent to stand trial and committed to a state hospital.

Captain Lipari had served with the Douglas County Sheriff’s Department for ten years and was survived by his wife, six children, and two grandchildren. Does anyone have additional details about the night at Club 89 or memories of Captain Lipari to share?