Lincoln man who shot at DHHS caseworkers thought they were police officers, court documents show

LINCOLN, Neb. (KOLN) - Court documents indicate a Lincoln man thought police officers were returning to his home and that he was “under attack” when he shot at two Department of Health and Human Services caseworkers, injuring one.

According to a probable cause affidavit, two DHHS caseworkers went to 38-year-old Brent Lopez’s home in the North Bottoms neighborhood Tuesday afternoon for a child welfare check.

The caseworkers arrived in a marked ‘State of Nebraska’ work vehicle and were still in the street when Lopez opened the front door and fired 2-3 shots from a handgun, the affidavit revealed. A 28-year-old DHHS employee suffered a gunshot wound to his upper left thigh/hip and another to his left buttocks. He went to the hospital for treatment and has since been released. The other DHHS employee wasn’t injured.

The uninjured caseworker told police that Lopez tried to provide first aid and made a comment similar to “I thought you were the cops”.

Court documents said the caseworkers were wearing their DHHS badges and one of them was carrying a black letter-sized notebook. Neither were armed with a handgun. However, one of the three children in the home called 911 to report the shooting and claimed the man who was shot had a gun.

Lopez faces four felony charges: first degree assault on an officer, two counts of use of a firearm to commit a felony and attempt of a class 2 felony. He was arraigned in court Thursday and a judge set his bond at 10 percent of $500,000.

A couple of days before the shooting, Lopez lost his job at the Air Park Rec Center after he was reportedly involved in a fight with teenagers and cited for two counts of misdemeanor assault. The altercation was caught on camera.

Lopez has multiple protection orders filed against him that involve firearms and accusations of violent behavior.