The Department of Homeland Security released new details Monday on a criminal illegal alien from El Salvador who shot and wounded four Omaha police officers and critically injured a 61-year-old civilian in separate shootings last week before being fatally shot by law enforcement.
DHS identified the suspect as 34-year-old Juan Ayala Ramos, who officials said opened fire on 61-year-old Michael Kasper outside an Omaha grocery store on December 3. According to local reports, Kasper was loading groceries into his vehicle when Ayala Ramos allegedly shot him without warning. Kasper remains hospitalized in serious condition.
Police tracked Ayala Ramos to a QuikTrip gas station, where he barricaded himself inside a bathroom stall. Body camera footage released by the Omaha Police Department shows Ayala Ramos emerging from the stall and firing at officers positioned near the entrance. Officers returned fire, killing the suspect. Four officers sustained non-life-threatening injuries during the exchange.
Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin said Ayala Ramos had been arrested multiple times prior to the shooting but remained in the country. His criminal history includes a 2019 arrest for assault by strangulation and a 2021 arrest for burglary and possession of a stolen firearm. DHS said he entered the United States illegally as an unaccompanied minor in 2007, and an immigration judge later administratively closed his removal case.
McLaughlin expressed condolences to Kasper and praised Omaha police for stopping the attack. “This violent criminal illegal from El Salvador shot four police officers and a 61-year-old man in cold blood in Omaha on December 3,” she said. “DHS sends our condolences to Michael Kasper and all officers involved, and we pray for their full recovery.”
The Omaha Police Department released the names of the six officers involved in the incident:
- Sergeant Emilio Luna, Gang Unit – 11 years of service; sustained a gunshot wound to his foot
- Detective Brock Rengo, Assault Unit – 8 years of service; sustained a grazing wound to his leg
- Detective Jordan Brandt, Gang Unit – 15 years of service; sustained a gunshot wound to his leg
- Detective Christopher Brown, Gang Unit – 19 years of service; sustained a shrapnel injury to his foot
- Detective Kyle Graber, Gang Unit – 11 years of service
- Sergeant Jonathon Holtrop, Uniform Patrol Bureau – 17 years of service
DHS officials said the case underscores ongoing public safety concerns involving criminal illegal aliens who reoffend after prior arrests. ICE has opened a review of Ayala Ramos’ immigration history and prior case closures.
