SP Investigating Murder-Suicide in North Platte

July 14, 2025 (North Platte, Neb.)  — The Nebraska State Patrol continues the investigation into a murder-suicide that occurred Saturday morning in North Platte.

Early Saturday, the North Platte Police Department and Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office requested assistance from the Nebraska State Patrol at the scene of a barricaded subject in North Platte. The subject had told authorities that he had shot and killed his brother inside the home at 1609 West 2nd Street, in North Platte. The subject, identified as James Kemp, 39, was also refusing to allow his 11-year-old son to leave the home.

After several hours of negotiations, Kemp allowed his son to leave the home. The boy was quickly taken into protective care at approximately 9:45 a.m. Soon after the child was released, negotiators heard a gunshot.

Officers and deputies from North Platte PD and Lincoln County quickly entered the home and located the subject deceased from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. The subject’s brother, Christopher Kemp, 37, was also located deceased from an apparent gunshot wound.

No officers fired a shot at any point during the incident. Because law enforcement officers were present outside the home at the time of the suicide, the Nebraska State Patrol will conduct a Grand Jury investigation.