Omaha man facing terroristic threats charges appears in court

OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) - An Omaha man that was arrested in August after allegedly causing panic in the city had a preliminary hearing Monday.

John Channels allegedly caused a panic when he held active shooter training at Catholic Charities in May. His bond stays at $300,000.

Channels will be tried on six felony counts, five counts being for terroristic threats and one use of a firearm to commit a felony. His case was moved to district court for trial.

According to court documents, officers said the organizer and actor of the active shooter event was Channels and that he identified himself as an Offutt civilian police officer. Police said they discovered he had been firing blanks from a handgun and staged people throughout the area to act as victims so that employees would see them as they fled the building.

But some employees of Catholic Charities were unaware of it — as were others who called for help.