On the afternoon of September 5th, 2012, twenty-one-year-old Brandon D. Thomas left his mother’s home in Omaha, Nebraska, and set out for a nearby store. It should have been an ordinary walk through his neighborhood. Instead, Brandon was shot in broad daylight near the intersection of North 41st and Maple Streets, in an attack witnessed (or at least potentially seen) by numerous people in the area.
Brandon was walking with several other young men at approximately four fifteen p.m. when gunfire erupted. According to his aunt, Kamala Coleman, witnesses reported that the shots came from someone associated with a blue truck. Brandon apparently attempted to get away but was struck twice in the back. He was rushed to Creighton University Medical Center, where he died from his injuries.
The timing of the shooting made the lack of information particularly frustrating for investigators. It occurred during the afternoon, shortly after area schools had let out. Detective Sherry King later told KETV that several people were on the street, including children who had recently gotten off school buses, when the shots were fired. Police believed there were people who had seen something that could help identify the killers.
Brandon’s family was left with few clues about why anyone would have wanted him dead. Coleman told reporters that her nephew was not involved in a gang and that the family could not understand why he had been targeted. Detectives likewise said they had found no obvious enemies who might explain the shooting.
For Brandon’s relatives, September 5th had already been an important family day before it became a day of tragedy. Coleman told KETV that while Brandon’s mother was dealing with the news that her son had been taken to the hospital, one of her daughters was elsewhere giving birth. The arrival of a new member of the family was therefore overshadowed by the sudden loss of another. Brandon himself was also a parent: his obituary identified his son as three-year-old Keasean Cook.
In the initial hours after the murder, information about the shooter was limited. Police did not immediately release a useful description of either the gunman or the vehicle. As investigators continued working the case, however, witnesses told authorities that two Black males may have been involved and that they may have been traveling in a blue truck.
One of the enduring mysteries is the motive. The attack did not appear, based on what police publicly disclosed, to have resulted from an argument that suddenly escalated. Thomas was simply walking from his mother’s home toward a store when the gunmen appeared. His being shot in the back was consistent with the family’s belief that he had attempted to flee. Investigators did not publicly identify a dispute, gang connection or known enemy that explained why he was singled out.
As of this writing in October 2026, the murder of Brandon Thomas is still unsolved.
