Leon Mitchell, 48, was shot in the spine at a gas station in northwest Omaha, and doctors have told his family he has a 5% to 10% chance of walking again. His 23-year-old son was shot in the liver and lungs. Both men are Black, both survived surgery at Bergan Mercy Hospital, and their family says what happened to them was a hate crime.
“It was a hate crime,” Makiya Mitchell, Leon Mitchell’s daughter and the younger man’s sister, told 3 News Now. “This was intentional.” She also said: “My dad was a hero that night.”
Police say the shooting happened around 11:30 p.m. on Oct. 21 at a Mega Saver station near 144th and Blondo streets. David Seyler, 31, was arrested and charged with six felonies, including two counts of assault, terroristic threats and weapons charges. A judge set his bond at $750,000 at his first court appearance on Oct. 23. As Atlanta Black Star reported, prosecutors estimate the combined sentences could reach 200 years if he is convicted.
Video of the confrontation, which the local outlets have described, captures Seyler shouting at the two men before he fires: “Do you want to f—— die?” According to the arrest affidavit, as Atlanta Black Star reported, he also told them: “You wanna get shot? You’re in West O now.” The dispute began inside the store when one of the Mitchells asked Seyler for a cigarette, then moved to the parking lot.
Police and prosecutors have not said publicly that race was a motive. The charges as reported do not include a hate-crime count. The family points to what Seyler said and to the fact that he shot two men over a request for a cigarette. Seyler has not publicly responded to the family’s account, and the outlets covering the case have not reported a statement from his lawyer.
The family wants investigators to answer whether the words he chose that night, “You’re in West O now,” were about geography or about who the Mitchells were.
Seyler is due back in court on Dec. 2.
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