LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) - A Wyoming man died of injuries he received in a police shooting in Nebraska that also killed his girlfriend, authorities said Wednesday.
Christian Alexander, 26, of Evansville, Wyoming, died Tuesday at a Lincoln hospital, three days after he was shot by officers, Lancaster County Sheriff Terry Wagner said in a news conference Wednesday. The shootout Saturday morning in Lincoln also killed 30-year-old Hailey Stainbrook, of Casper, Wyoming.
Investigators have said the couple were suspected in a robbery reported in the parking lot of a Lincoln hotel around 8:30 a.m. Saturday. A Nebraska state trooper later spotted their vehicle, and a chase ensued during which Alexander fired at officers.
Wagner said that after the couple’s vehicle was stopped, Alexander was shot after pointing a gun at two state troopers and a Lincoln officer. Officers then negotiated for several minutes with Stainbrook to drop a gun she was holding, Wagner said. She was fatally shot by a state trooper when she pointed her weapon at officers, the sheriff said.
“In consultation with the Lancaster County Attorney, our preliminary investigation has determined the officers were legally justified in using deadly force against both suspects,” Wagner said.
Lincoln police said in a release Wednesday that Officer Jesse Hilger, a 19-year veteran of the force, was among the law enforcement officers who shot Alexander. The Nebraska State Patrol on Wednesday issued a release saying it would not yet release the names of the troopers who fired shots, saying it’s the patrol’s policy not to do so during internal investigations.
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