Family members say Bellevue woman injured in shooting won’t survive; friend says she was well loved

Family members say Bellevue woman injured in shooting won’t survive; friend says she was well loved
Brenda Henderson received her master's degree in organizational performance this year from Bellevue University. She worked at the school as assistant director of student financial services.

A Bellevue woman critically injured in a shooting last week will not survive, a family member said Monday.

Doctors at the Nebraska Medical Center will use organs from Brenda M. Henderson, 35, to help others, according to her stepfather, Rick Cline of Bellevue. Henderson had told her family that she wanted to be an organ donor and also noted it on her driver’s license, he said.

“The damage to Brenda was too extensive,” Cline said. “She will be a hero because her organs will live on in other people.”

Henderson’s longtime partner, David S. Clark, 35, is accused of shooting her about 1:15 a.m. Thursday in the home they shared near Childs and Camp Gifford Roads. He was charged Monday with first-degree assault, use of a weapon to commit a felony and being a felon in possession of a firearm. The Sarpy County attorney has the option of reviewing and amending those charges.

A Sarpy County judge ordered Clark held on $2 million bail. Clark must post 10 percent of the bail amount, $200,000, to be released.

Cline said Henderson grew up in Bellevue and graduated from Bellevue West, where she met Clark. She earned a bachelor’s degree in 2016 and a master’s degree in 2018, both from Bellevue University.

Henderson began working for Bellevue University as an undergraduate and was named assistant director of student financial services two years ago. Cline said his stepdaughter was very talented and “always able to organize” her priorities.

Jamie Chancey, a close friend and university colleague, said Henderson “loved helping students” reach their goals. Chancey was one of three women from the university who attended Monday’s bail hearing.

“She had a heart of gold,” Chancey said. “She was working on her second master’s (degree), but she always put everyone else first. She was well loved by hundreds of people at Bellevue (University).”

Cline said his stepdaughter and Clark, a construction worker, are the parents of two boys, ages 17 and 11. Cline and Henderson’s mother, Betty, are caring for the boys, he said.

“We talked with them about their mom being an organ donor,” Cline said. “They understand that Brenda was always looking to help others.”

Clark, who was arrested at the scene, had been out on bail after having been charged with domestic assault causing injury, two counts of third-degree assault and being a felon in possession of a firearm. Those charges were the result of an Oct. 30 incident in which police were called to the couple’s home and found Henderson injured.

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