Two employees of a Sonic Drive-In were killed and two others were injured in a shooting on Saturday night in Nebraska, the authorities said.
Officers from the Bellevue Police Department were called to the restaurant, about nine miles from Omaha, at approximately 9:23 p.m. local time about a possible bomb inside a U-Haul truck in the parking lot, the police said.
The bomb squad was dispatched, Lt. Andy Jashinske of the Bellevue Police Department said at a news conference. Tubes and wires were observed in the truck but a bomb was not found, he said.
A minute later, the call was updated to involve a shooting.
Officers found four people with gunshot wounds, the police said. Two of the people were transported to the University of Nebraska Medical Center, and two others were declared dead at the scene.
The conditions of those wounded were unavailable at a news conference on Sunday night. A fifth person who had minor injuries declined medical treatment.
A suspect, Roberto Carlos Silva Jr., was quickly taken into custody, the police said. Lieutenant Jashinske said Mr. Silva was compliant and unarmed when he was arrested.
In a video released by the police, Mr. Silva is seen face down on the pavement before being handcuffed. He was charged with first-degree murder and first-degree arson and was being held at the Sarpy County Jail.
The police said four unspecified firearms were recovered at the scene on Saturday night.
A motive for the shooting was unclear.
Lieutenant Jashinske said earlier on Sunday that the U-Haul truck might have had “fireworks or some type of device in it,” but that the police were still trying to figure that out. He said the truck caught fire and was “pretty much burned up.”
On Wednesday night, officers responded to the same Sonic Drive-In to investigate a case of identity theft in which Mr. Silva had used the Sonic app to order $57 worth of food from the restaurant, the police said on Sunday afternoon. Mr. Silva was charged with identity theft under $500.
The police said that Mr. Silva, who had a permit to carry concealed weapons, had three firearms at the time he was arrested on Wednesday and that all of them were logged as evidence.
In a statement, a Sonic Drive-In spokesman said that the company was “stunned and saddened by what occurred” and that the franchise owner was working with the authorities.
“Our heartfelt condolences go out to the franchise owner and the families and friends impacted by this horrific tragedy,” the spokesman said.
Allyson Waller contributed reporting.
