Jang Puol, an 18-year-old Black male, was shot and killed on the evening of November 27, 2021, in midtown Omaha. Around 7:30 p.m., 911 calls drew officers to the area of 34th and Jackson Streets, where they found two people down in front of a residence. Puol and 21-year-old William Harnage were pronounced dead at the scene, while a third victim, 21-year-old Trevel Caldwell, was rushed to Nebraska Medicine with injuries that police said were not life-threatening.
The initial scene description referenced a burst of gunfire in the residential block, leaving shell casings and neighbors shaken as cruisers stacked along the curbs beneath the amber streetlights.
Detectives quickly labeled the case a double homicide and began canvassing the neighborhood for witnesses and surveillance footage. That night and the following day, officials shared that the shooters fled in a white sedan moving away from the block, a detail repeated in dispatch summaries and local briefings as investigators tried to trace the vehicle s path through nearby corridors. Grieving families described Puol as a beloved son and brother, with services later announced through a Council Bluffs funeral home, underscoring a life that had spanned states and communities before ending on a cold Saturday night.
Authorities did not immediately name a motive, and in the weeks after the shooting, coverage focused on the trauma to loved ones and the plea for tips. Parents and community advocates spoke publicly about the surge in youth gun violence, invoking Puol s name alongside Harnage s as they pressed for answers and urged anyone with information to come forward. The surviving victim s account, together with neighborhood cameras, formed the backbone of early leads while officers worked the phones and combed forballistic matches.
As of the most recent reports available, investigators had not announced any arrests in connection with the shooting at 34th and Jackson, nor publicly identified specific suspects beyond the description of the fleeing white sedan. Local news stories and police statements continued to describe the investigation as ongoing, with Crime Stoppers tips encouraged and updates pending the development of actionable evidence.
