In the early morning hours of January 20, 2019, tragedy struck in Omaha, Nebraska, claiming the life of 21-year-old Jacque Holbert, a Black male. Holbert was at his home near 38th Avenue and Burdette Street when gunfire erupted from outside. He was asleep in his bed when bullets pierced through the house, striking and critically injuring him shortly before 1:40 a.m.
Rushed to the Nebraska Medical Center, he succumbed to his injuries, marking Omaha's first homicide of the year.
The shooting was not a random act of violence, as the house had been previously targeted. The death of Jacque Holbert added another painful chapter to his family's history, which had been marred by gun violence. His father, Jacque S. Holbert III, was murdered at the age of 16 in 1997. In 2015, his uncle, Travis Holbert, was also shot and killed. The devastating pattern led his grandmother, Alice Pollard, to mourn, "They shot my boys and now they've shot my grandson." A graduate of Omaha Central High School, Holbert was remembered by his family as someone who loved them and tried to steer clear of trouble.
Omaha police launched an investigation into the shooting, noting that a vehicle may have been involved. They appealed to the public for information, offering a reward for any tips that could lead to an arrest. While no arrests have been publicly announced in direct connection with Holbert's murder, court documents from an unrelated case revealed that his death was perceived as a gang-related killing. These documents indicated that Jacque "Jack" Holbert was a member of the 38th Street Bloods gang, and that subsequent shootings were carried out by his associates to avenge his death. The case of Anthony Gafford, the man convicted of killing Holbert's father, added a strange twist when he escaped from a work-release program just six days after Jacque's death, though no official link between the escape and the homicide has been established. As of now, the identity of the person or persons responsible for Jacque Holbert's death remains publicly unresolved.
