Iowa State Police have arrested six teenagers, the youngest of whom is 14, in connection with a drive-by shooting in Des Moines that killed a 15-year-old boy and critically injured two teenage girls.
On Tuesday, the suspects were identified as 17-year-old Octavio Lopez; Nyang Chamdual, 14; Manuel Bueso, 16; Romero Perdomo, 16; Alex Perdomo, 15, and Henry Valladares-Amaia, 17, all from Des Moines.
Each teen is charged with first-degree murder and two counts of attempted murder during a shootout Monday afternoon on the grounds of East High School.
Police said the shots near the school were fired by multiple shooters from multiple vehicles.
Police said the 15-year-old victim, who was not a student at the school, was the alleged target of a drive-by shooting.
A shooting near East High School in Des Moines, Iowa on Monday afternoon left one 15-year-old boy dead and two teenage girls, 16 and 18, in critical condition. Six teens arrested and charged in connection with fatal shooting
Police said the shooting came from multiple vehicles. The youngest of the six suspects currently facing murder and attempted murder charges is just 14 years old.
East High School was closed on Monday afternoon and remained closed on Tuesday.
Police said the other two who were shot were East High School students aged 16 and 18 and just passers-by caught off guard.
Police said the 16-year-old remained hospitalized in serious condition on Tuesday, while the 18-year-old remained hospitalized in critical condition.
Sergeant Paul Parizek told KCCI-TV that the calls began coming in around 2:50 p.m. Monday, shortly before classes were due to end for the day.
A district press release said the school was closed immediately and students remained inside while police investigated. They were fired around 3:30 pm after law enforcement made it all clear.
Principal Jill Verstig called the incident “everyone’s worst nightmare” and urged parents to “hug their students and love them.”
The district has stated that there will be no classes on Tuesday and that it is postponing ACT college entrance exams and parent-teacher conferences. The district also provided grief counselors.
Superintendent Thomas Ahart said that school shootings had “become all too common” and said that “real changes in gun and access laws would help us a lot.”
“Our staff and students,” he said, “have to prepare for these incidents, and the trauma of repeated drills and incidents will stay with them for years to come. Unfortunately, our state and our country has become a place where firearms are too easily accessible.”
Police said they did not believe there was a permanent threat to the public. The motive was not immediately known. Authorities have recovered shell casings from the scene while they figure out what happened.
Des Moines Police Chief Dana Wingert came to the school after the shooting and expressed dissatisfaction with the violence.
“Unfortunately, what happened here today was just another senseless tragedy in our community,” Wingert told WOI-TV. “People using firearms to settle their differences.”
Police said it was the fourth murder in Des Moines this year.
“It’s a punch in the gut,” Parizek told KCCI 8. “The kids at this school are the most precious burden to our community.
A large number of policemen can be seen at the scene of the shooting. Several suspects have been arrested
Police have identified the cartridge case (pictured) from the weapon used to shoot the teenagers
The investigation is ongoing as the school has been cleared and students have gone home.
In the photo, an officer watches as police inspect the crime scene after shooting the veil.
The Kansas City Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives was also at the scene assisting local authorities with the ongoing investigation.
East High School student Kayleigh Shannon told KCCI 8 that she was in the school parking lot when she heard the gunshots.
“I was just sitting in my friend’s car and suddenly I heard 11 shots and the boys screaming,” she said.
The Des Moines shooting comes just days after the 18-year-old football player was charged with Friday’s shooting of a high school administrator and resource officer at Olathe East High School in Kansas City.
Jaylon Dezeen Elmore was charged with attempted capital murder after he shot and killed Assistant Principal Caleb Stoppel and Resource Officer Eric Clark in the high school’s main office.
Olate Police Sergeant Joel Yeldell reacted to the shooting and exchanged fire with Elmore, wounding the student and arresting him.
Elmore has been released from the hospital and his bail is set at $1 million.
Monday’s shooting is also the deadliest shooting since Ethan Crumbley killed four students and injured seven at Oxford High School on November 30, 2021.
Jennifer Crumbly and James Crumbly are charged with manslaughter and charged with providing guns to their son and failing to intervene when he showed signs of a mental breakdown.
Ethan has already been charged with first-degree murder. All three pleaded not guilty.