CHALCO, Neb. (WOWT/Gray News) – A school community in Nebraska is mourning the loss of a special education teacher who was killed after a domestic violence incident ended in a shootout, according to police.
Sarpy County Sheriff Jeff Davis said deputies found 45-year-old Rebecca Geiger dead in her Chalco Hills home after shots were exchanged near South 143rd Street and Meadows Parkway at around 3 a.m. Monday.
Officials said Geiger’s 19-year-old daughter called 911 and told operators her father, 44-year-old Rory Geiger, had shot her mother before pointing the gun at her.
Rory Geiger then reportedly turned his attention to deputies, although Davis said it was a person inside the home who fired the first shot.
“There was gunfire initiated by a subject from inside the house out the plate glass window. One of our officers returned fire,” the sheriff said in a Monday update.
Deputies then entered the home, where they found Rory Geiger dead of a gunshot wound.
Life-saving measures were performed but proved unsuccessful, and he was pronounced dead at the scene, officials said.
Authorities said they had been to the home about a month earlier for an incident and were told not to return.
“There was an alert on the house because of a response they received at the time,” Davis said. “It was domestic, and we followed up, for mental health issues. The next day, that individual told us, ‘Be careful, you shouldn‘t come back here.’”
Five deputies involved in the shooting have been placed on administrative leave, officials said. None of the deputies were injured.
Investigators are looking at body cameras worn by the deputies as well as cameras inside and outside the home. They said they are not yet sure whether Rory Geiger’s fatal wounds were self-inflicted or from a shot fired by a Sarpy County deputy.
“It appears at this point, regardless of whether he took his own life or whether he was shot by one of our people, most definitely them responding and entering saved probably the lives of both those girls,” Davis said.
Deputies reportedly found several guns in the house when they searched.
Rebecca Geiger was a special education teacher who had just started her 10th year at Westside High School.
“She was just a very kind teacher,” Elizabeth Power with Westside Community Schools said. “She was so good at helping her students feel very seen and very loved and very much like they belonged here at Westside High School, which is such an important thing for any student, especially her students.”
The district has set up its crisis response team. Counselors will be available all week long.
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