A man from Nebraska has accepted a plea deal related to a 2022 incident in which he took an active shooter drill too far, according to prosecutors.
The man, 29-year-old John Channels of Omaha, pleaded no contest to the four counts of making a terroristic threat that he was charged with. The Omaha World-Herald reported it was part of a plea deal he negotiated with prosecutors in the case.
In exchange for his no contest plea, prosecutors dismissed an additional count of use of a firearm to commit a felony that they originally charged him with.
According to police, Omaha Catholic Charities hired Channels — who then owned a security company — to carry out an active shooter drill to test how prepared its workers were in case such an attack took place.
However, Channels apparently took the drill way too far.
Police said he arrived at the charity’s offices in a mask and black hoodie. He was carrying a semiautomatic handgun and fired blanks.
Channels, who claimed that he was a “civilian police officer,” even staged having “victims” at the scene. Police said the “victims” had fake blood all over them and appeared as if they were killed or wounded.
The arrest affidavit said that Channels told the Omaha Catholic Charities’ representatives who hired him that he had previously conducted other such drills in the past, and that legitimate law enforcement officers would also be there when the drill took place.
Employees of the charity and police officers weren’t given advanced warning of the drill, though. So, when Channels showed up that day, employees began to run for their lives, with responding officers drawing their guns thinking it was a real active shooter situation.
Don Kleine, a prosecutor in Douglas County, said it’s fortunate that there weren’t dire consequences from the drill. Channels could have been shot by a police officer or someone else, or somebody could have suffered a heart attack.
One of the charity’s employees, Sandra Lopez, sued Omaha Catholic Charities, claiming that she injured her back while she was fleeing and that she had been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.
As that suit stated:
“The conduct of Catholic Charities caused Sandra Lopez emotional distress so severe that no reasonable person should be expected to endure it.”
Her lawyer, Thomas White, argued that the charity intentionally injured his client and their other employees since they didn’t tell them in advance that it was only a drill.
That lawsuit was dismissed last year, though, as the judge in the case ruled that Workers’ Compensation Court is where the case should be decided.
Channels isn’t only facing legal trouble related to the active shooter drill, though.
On Wednesday, he pleaded no contest in a separate and unrelated case that involves assaulting a child, possession of child abuse materials and more.
His sentencing has been set for October 27. Channels faces a time in prison of anywhere from 21 years to life behind bars.
