Back in May, news broke that James Scurlock, a Black protester in Nebraska, was fatally shot by a bar owner. Now, witnesses, who gave statements regarding the incident, claim that their thoughts are being ignored.

According to Alayna Melendez, who witnessed the crime, the situation took a turn for the worst within a matter of minutes. “I thought, I need to take this man down,” she said to Yahoo News. “If anybody should’ve gotten shot it should’ve been me. The unfortunate reality is I’m stuck here thinking I caused his death, or I could’ve prevented more.”

Another protester Derek Stephens added, “We weren’t given any phone numbers, any badge numbers, absolutely nothing. I understand it was a hectic situation and everything. But we were all standing there trying to plead with these cops, like, ‘If you’re going to stand in and push us forward, can you radio in your senior officer, your superior, and have them come talk to us?’”

After learning news regarding his son’s passing, Scurlock’s father wrote, “Last night I lost a son, my wife lost a son, my kids lost a brother. His daughter lost a father. All because he decided to protest against racism. There’s a lot of speculation and rumors about how this happened. I don’t really care to be honest. My family wants closure and peace. I’ve already been harassed by people.”

On June 1, Douglas County Attorney Don Kleine revealed that no charges will be filed against bar owner Jake Gardner for the shooting. The attorney explained that evidence supports that the incident was a direct result of self-defense.

“Douglas County is a community of people I truly love. And I’ve been very proud of and very proud to serve as the county attorney in this great country that we live in,” Kleine said.