OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Omaha police have identified the officer who fatally shot a 31-year-old man seven times on Friday.

Police say the officer who shot Joshua Beebee in northwest Omaha on Friday was Kenneth Rowe. Rowe is a 19-year veteran of the police force.

Police say officers chased Beebee through an open field and Rowe drove his cruiser through the field to cut off Beebee’s path.

As Rowe was getting out of his car, Beebee charged toward him with a knife in his hand.

Rowe will remain on leave while incident is investigated.

Jewel Lykens told the Omaha World-Herald that she believes her brother was carrying a knife because he was scared for himself, not because he wanted to harm anyone.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska groups pushing for approval of medical marijuana in the state have decided to delay a petition drive to put the question on the ballot because of the time and expense required.

Shelley Gillen, whose son has epileptic seizures that might be helped by the drug, says backers are looking at the possibility of a petition drive to force a 2018 vote.

A bill to allow medical marijuana failed this spring thanks to opposition from the Governor and Attorney General.

State Sen. Tommy Garrett of Bellevue sponsored the bill. He says it would have cost $700,000 to nearly $1 million to pay for the petition drive and advertising.

Garrett says he will continue trying to pass a bill if he is re-elected.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A family spokesman says Nick Menza, former drummer for influential metal band Megadeth, died after collapsing on stage during a performance of his progressive jazz trio in Southern California.

J. Marshall Craig says Menza’s latest band OHM was three songs into a set at a Los Angeles-area club Saturday night when the drummer collapsed. Friends and audience members rendered aid while paramedics were called.

Craig says the 51-year-old died at the club of a suspected heart attack.

Menza was Megadeth’s longest-serving drummer, performing on five records over nine years, including 1990’s thrash metal landmark, “Rust In Peace.”

After leaving Megadeth in 1998, Menza pursued an interest in jazz and became an accomplished woodworker.

He is survived by his parents and two sons.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — An Omaha woman has been fined $100 in what a city attorney believes is the first time a person has been prosecuted for violated a city fire code forbidding grills on apartment balconies.

51-year-old Jan Wilson was sentenced Friday for a city fire code violation. She could had been sentenced to up six months in jail and fined up to $500.

Prosecutor Tom Mumgaard says it’s the first time he could recall the city enforcing its ban.

Officials say Wilson’s charcoal grill sparked a two-alarm blaze at the Maple Ridge Apartments on April 12 that caused the building’s roof to partially collapse and displaced 23 people. No injuries were reported.

Officials say the fire caused an estimated $225,000 in damage.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A 28-year-old woman has died from her injuries in a crash in midtown Omaha.

Police say Johnetta Lowery, of Omaha, was westbound on Bedford Avenue at 55th Street when she lost control, hit a retaining wall and hit a tree in a yard. Police say Lowery was not wearing a seat belt and was thrown from the vehicle.

Lowery was taken to Nebraska Medicine, where she later died.

Police say speed and alcohol are being investigated as factors in the crash.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Court records show that a Lincoln woman who had nearly four dozen cats taken from her home earlier this week had been cited five years ago for keeping dozens of animals.

On Monday, authorities say they removed 44 live cats and at least two dead kittens from the 41-year-old woman’s house.

Court records show that in 2011, 86 animals — including cats, mice and other small animals — were removed from the woman’s house.

Capital Humane Society President Bob Downey says he hopes a judge will order to the woman to no longer have pets in her home.

A veterinarian who evaluated the cats pulled from the woman’s home this week says at least six have been diagnosed with feline leukemia.