Lincoln Police provide an update on an investigation on January 6th when police were called to 36th and Van Dorn of a man threatening a passing driver with a hatchet. The woman had children in her vehicle and pulled over and asked 34 year old Steven Shiffermiller if he was okay. That is when he approached her vehicle with a hatchet. She was able to drive off safely and called police.
Around the same time a call came into dispatch from a man threatening to bomb the police department. Police were able to contact the man who was holding an incendiary device on the porch of his home at 36th and Van Dorn. he was identified as the man who had the hatchet and who called in the bomb threat. Officers started negotiations around 4:45 p.m. and attempted to deescalate the situation for four hours without success. During that time, Shiffermiller was seen pouring gas in and around his home and threatened to light it on fire. He also demanded that officers kill him. An area around his home was evacuated and cordoned off.
Due to the increased danger and escalating behavior Shiffermiller was demonstrating, officers deployed less than lethal rounds causing minor injuries. Shiffermiller was taken into custody around 8:45 p.m. and taken to a local area treatment facility. A search warrant was served on the residence that evening and officers located Molotov cocktails and gasoline poured throughout the home.
On January 11th just before 5 p.m., Shiffermiller was released from the treatment facility and arrested for Threatening to Use Explosives, Possession of a Destructive Device, Possession of a Deadly Weapon by a Prohibited Person, Use of a Deadly Weapon to Commit a Felony, and Resisting Arrest.