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Sonic franchise owners in Omaha covering funeral, hospital expenses of shooting victims

Owners of Omaha-area Sonic restaurants said they will cover the funeral expenses of two workers who were fatally shot at a Bellevue, Nebraska, restaurant on Saturday night.

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The owners also said they would cover the out-of-pocket hospital expenses of two other workers who were wounded at the suburban Omaha restaurant, the Omaha World-Herald reported.

Nathan Pastrana, 22, and Ryan Helbert, 28, were killed in the shooting at the Bellevue Sonic Drive-in, the newspaper reported.

Kenneth Garner, 25, remains in critical condition at an area hospital, and Zoey Reece Atalig Lujan, 18, was in critical but stable condition, the World-Herald reported.

No customers were inside the building at the time of the shooting, according to KETV.

Police arrested Roberto Carlos Silva Jr., 23, of Omaha, in connection with the shootings, the television station reported. He was lying facedown on the ground when officers approached him and put him in handcuffs, the World-Herald reported.

Silva faces two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of attempted first-degree murder, one count of arson and four counts of use of a firearm, KETV reported.

The arson charge was filed in connection with a fire in a U-Haul truck outside the restaurant, according to the World-Herald. Police believe Silva drove the U-Haul to the restaurant.

According to the Bellevue Police Department, Silva was arrested at the same Sonic restaurant on Nov. 19 on charges of misdemeanor identity theft, according to KETV. Silva is accused of charging $57 worth of food to an app that belonged to someone else, police said.

A spokesperson for Bryant Morrison, who owns the Bellevue Sonic, said Wednesday that the Morrisons have provided group and individual counseling as needed for all employees, the World-Herald reported.

A GoFundMe page was set up by the Morrison family for all four victims. As of Friday evening, more than $21,000 had been pledged.

“As we work to rebuild, we know there are and will be out-of-pocket expenses facing our team members and their families ranging from funeral expenses to medical expenses,” the Morrisons wrote on the page. “We are providing grief counseling for our team and planning a permanent memorial at the drive-in when it is rebuilt.”

Sonic Corporate is also sending $5,000 to each of the families, the spokesperson told the World-Herald.