photo by: Contributed

Omar Dominguez Gavilan, 28, was shot and killed Jan. 5, 2025, at Lawrence City Hall.

A Minnesota man who was shot and killed earlier this month by a City of Lawrence employee suffered from schizophrenia and was traveling to see his grandmother in Mexico at the time of his death, according to his family, who are calling his death a heartbreaking tragedy and urging a greater understanding of people suffering from mental illness.

Omar Dominguez Gavilan, of Buffalo, Minnesota, died Jan. 5 after he reportedly broke into City Hall and had an altercation with security personnel. Gavilan was in Lawrence because Kansas Highway Patrol troopers gave him a ride on Jan. 4 from the I-70 service area east of town to the Amtrak station a half mile from City Hall — after he said he had missed his bus. He had been behaving erratically at the service area, police said; they were asked to remove him, but they said they had no cause to arrest him.

Gavilan’s family has started a GoFundMe to raise $4,500 “to bring Omar home and have his funeral so he may rest in peace,” according to a social media post.

According to the GoFundMe page, Gavilan was a rapper and was known to many as “The Almighty Bluenose.” A number of videos on social media show Gavilan doing freestyle raps.

“He was a loving brother, son, uncle, and friend,” the page says. “Born in Minnesota on December 11th, Omar was only 28 years old when his life was tragically cut short on January 5th in Lawrence, Kansas. He was shot by a security guard while traveling to Mexico to visit our grandmother.”

The page, which is critical of Kansas authorities, says that Gavilan “faced the challenges of schizophrenia with incredible strength and wisdom” and that he shared his experiences through his music, “hoping to help others understand what he was going through.” The family expressed the “urgent need to raise awareness for those struggling with mental health.”

“Omar’s passing is a tragedy that has left our family heartbroken. He was deeply loved by his mother Lucy, father Eliseo, youngest brother Antonio, oldest sister Alondra, and especially his niece Ivana Luna Gavilan, whom he protected and loved as his own daughter,” the post said.

Lawrence police have said that Gavilan did not have a firearm on him when he was shot and killed. The city employee responsible for the shooting has been placed on administrative leave per protocol. Law enforcement is preparing an investigative report, including video of the incident, for the Douglas County District Attorney’s Office, which will determine in coming weeks whether any charges will be filed.