photo by: Kim Callahan/Journal-World

Daitron Daniels Strickland, from left, Caiden Clem and attorney Razmi Tahirkheli appear Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026, in Douglas County District Court.

Charges against two teens connected to the Jan. 17 shooting at The Hawk have been amended, and the two appeared in Douglas County District Court Tuesday for their preliminary hearings.

Daitron Daniels Strickland, 18, of Shawnee, now faces a more serious charge of first-degree murder, and Caiden Clem, 18, of Atchison, no longer faces a charge of felony murder, according to amended complaints filed by the Douglas County District Attorney’s Office.

In addition, Daniels Strickland faces two counts of attempted first-degree murder and criminal possession of a firearm. Clem faces four counts of aggravated assault and one count of criminal possession of a weapon by a felon. At the beginning of the hearing, prosecutor Eve Kemple introduced evidence of previous convictions for burglary and criminal threat for Clem and Daniels Strickland, respectively.

Daniels Strickland has requested immunity from prosecution based on self-defense, and Hanley is expected to soon rule on that motion.

The state has so far put on half a dozen witnesses who have testified about fighting and gunshots they witnessed that night at the popular college bar, including one man who said he was standing next to 18-year-old Aidan Knowles when he was shot to death and 16-year-old Brady Clark, who was critically wounded.

Less than two hours into the hearing Tuesday, Clem waived his right to a preliminary hearing and Judge Hanley bound him over for trial on all five counts. He then left the courtroom and is now scheduled for arraignment on March 5.

After his departure, the state played three surveillance videos collected from The Hawk. In one video a man in black is seen firing a handgun toward the bar, then fleeing. The video was soundless, but a collective gasp went up in the packed courtroom as a rapid succession of muzzle flashes appeared on screen. The video did not capture the target of the gunfire.

Other videos showed a chaotic scene as Hawk staff attempted to clear the bar at closing time, with people pushing and shoving and coming and going. Witnesses had testified that Clem put a gun to the head of a bouncer during the commotion. Clem, wearing bright orange, was forced out of the bar, and witnesses said that once outside he fired multiple shots into the air. In a video taken from inside the bar and looking out, a man is seen quickly pulling the front door shut and holding it closed before running out of view into the bar. Bar employees testified that they took cover at the sound of gunshots.

This is a developing story.