Authorities said a teenage boy was killed and two girls were wounded during a shooting outside the Iowa high school.
Police arrested six teenagers and charged each with murder in a shooting outside a high school that left one teenager dead and two others in critical condition.
Police and fire personnel in Des Moines responded to East High School just before 2:50 pm after reports of shots fired. The Des Moines Police Department said that when officers arrived, they found three victims.
Ahman Douglass, a spokesperson told Fox News, that a 15-year-old boy died and two girls, ages 16 and 18 were hospitalized. All three were initially taken to hospitals in critical condition. Douglas said: “The two girls are still alive as of right now.”
Authorities said that the victims were on school property but not within the building when the incident happened. Authorities announced that they arrested the teens after the shooting the prior afternoon.
The suspects have been named as Octavio Lopez, 17, Henry Valladares-Amaya, 17, Manuel Buezo, 16, Romero Perdomo, 16, Alex Perdomo, 15, and Nyang Chamdual, 14, all from Des Moines. The school district has not disclosed whether any of them attended East High School.
Police have also identified Jose David Lopez, of Des Moines, as the boy who was killed. Jose did not attend the school but he was the target of the drive-by shooting.
The two teenage girls who were shot were standing in a group along with Jose. Both remain hospitalized, the 16-year-old girl is in serious condition and the older girl is in critical condition. Their identities have not been released.
The teenagers are each charged with first-degree murder and two counts of attempted murder in the shooting on the grounds of East High School. Police said gunshots fired outside the school came from several shooters from multiple vehicles.
Sgt. Paul Parizek told KCCI-TV that calls started pouring in around 2:50 pm, shortly before classes were scheduled to dismiss for the day. The district said in a news release that the school was immediately put into lockdown and students were kept inside while police investigated.
Principal Jill Versteeg described what happened as “everyone’s worst nightmare” and urged parents to “hug your students and love them.”
Superintendent Thomas Ahart said school shootings have become too common and said that “real change to gun laws and access would go a long way to help us.”
He said: “Our staff and students are forced to train for these incidents and the trauma associated with the repeated drills and incidents will remain with them for years to come. It’s unfortunate that our state and our country have become a place where firearms are far too easily accessible.”
Dana Wingert, Des Moines Police Chief, went to the school after the shooting and expressed frustration at the violence. Wingert said: “Unfortunately, what happened here today was just another pointless tragedy in our community, people using firearms to settle their differences.”
Police said it was the fourth homicide in Des Moines this year. On KCCI 8, Parizek told, “It’s a punch in the gut, the kids in that school are our community’s most precious cargo.”
Kaylie Shannon, an East High School student, told KCCI 8 that she was outside in the school parking lot when she heard the gunfire. Kaylie said: “I was just sitting in my friend’s car and then all of the sudden I heard 11 gunshots and some boys screaming.”
The shooting in Des Moines comes only a few days after an 18-year-old football player was charged with shooting a high school administrator and resource officer at Olathe East High School, in Kansas City.
The shooting is also the deadliest shooting since Ethan Crumbley killed four students and wounded seven others at Oxford High School on November 30, 2021.
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