White man in Nebraska shoots 7 Guatemalan immigrants

A white man in Nebraska described as isolated and quarrelsome shot and wounded seven neighbors who are Guatemalan immigrants, and authorities do not rule out racism as a motive.

About 15 people were at the victims’ home, most of them in the yard, when Billy Booth, 74, opened fire from his Crete property with a shotgun at about 4:30 p.m. Friday, authorities said.

Booth committed suicide after the incident. The victims, who were related and included four children between the ages of 3 and 10, are expected to survive.

The incident shook Crete, a diverse community of about 7,000 people about 110 kilometers southwest of Omaha. The population is 50 percent Hispanic and nearly 25 percent are foreign-born.

Booth largely kept to himself, but had a history of conflict with his neighbors when he interacted with them, the Omaha World-Herald reported.

Police had previously received a complaint from the family that Booth made an obscene gesture toward them, yelled at them to go back to where they came from and “speak English,” Crete Police Chief Gary Young said Saturday. The family decided not to criminally charge him, he said.

Investigators are trying to determine the motive for the incident and have not ruled out racism, the police chief said.

“The fact that he had previously told them to ‘go home’ and ‘speak English’ suggests that was the motive,” the official said.

Neighbors said Booth also frequently argued with white neighbors.

“He hated everybody,” said Dave Hansen, whose home is next door to Booth.

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