DES MOINES, Iowa: One teenager was killed and two others were critically wounded after gunfire that appeared to come from a passing vehicle struck them outside an Iowa school, authorities said.
Des Moines police said in a news release Monday that potential suspects have been detained in the shooting on the grounds of East High School, near Des Moines’ downtown, about a half mile, from the Capitol. No charges were immediately filed.
Sgt. Paul Parizek told KCCI-TV that calls started pouring in around 2:50 p.m. Monday, shortly before classes were scheduled to dismiss for the day.
Police didn’t identify those shot but said a 15-year-old male had died. He was not a student at East.
The other two shot were females aged 16 and 18, who both attend East. They were hospitalized in critical condition.
The district said in a news release that the school was immediately put into lockdown and students were kept inside while police investigated. They were dismissed around 3:30 p.m. after law enforcement gave an all clear.
Principal Jill Versteeg described what happened as “everyone’s worst nightmare” and urged parents to “hug your students and love them.”
The district said there would be no classes Tuesday and that it was postponing the ACT and parent-teacher conferences. The district also was making grief counselors available.
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.”
“Our staff and students,” he said, “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.”
Police said they do not believe there is a continued threat to the public.
A motive was not immediately known, and Parizek provided no details on the potential suspects. He said witnesses were being interviewed and investigators were executing search warrants.
Authorities have recovered shell casings from the scene as they investigate what happened.
“Obviously, we threw every resource we had at this. We know that the kids in that school are our community’s most precious cargo.”
Des Moines Police Chief Dana Wingert went to the school after the shooting and expressed frustration at the violence.
“Unfortunately what happened here today was just another pointless tragedy in our community,” Wingert told TV station WOI-TV. “People using firearms to settle their differences.”
Police said it was the fourth homicide in Des Moines this year.
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1 teen dead, 2 wounded in shooting outside Iowa high school
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1 teen dead, 2 wounded in shooting outside Iowa high school
- The district said in a news release that the school was immediately put into lockdown and students were kept inside while police investigated
Budget impasse shuts down US Department of Homeland Security
- Thousands of government workers, from airport security agents to disaster relief officials, will either be furloughed or forced to work without pay
WASHINGTON: The Department of Homeland Security entered a partial shutdown Saturday as US lawmakers fight over funding the agency overseeing much of President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown.
Thousands of government workers, from airport security agents to disaster relief officials, will either be furloughed or forced to work without pay until funding is agreed upon by Congress.
At the center of the budget dispute is the department’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), whose agents killed two US citizens amid sweeping raids and mass protests in Minneapolis.
Democrats oppose any new funding for DHS until major changes are implemented over how ICE conducts its operations.
In particular, they have demanded curtailed patrols, a ban on ICE agents wearing face masks during operations and the requirement that they obtain a judicial warrant to enter private property.
“Donald Trump and Republicans have decided that they have zero interest in getting ICE under control,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said Friday.
“Dramatic changes are needed,” Jeffries told a news conference. “Absent that, Republicans have decided to shut down parts of the federal government.”
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt put the blame on the opposition, telling Fox News that “Democrats are barreling our government toward another shutdown for political and partisan reasons.”
But while DHS faces a shutdown, ICE itself will remain operational, under funds approved in last year’s government spending bill.
Senator John Fetterman pushed against his fellow Democrats, saying: “This shutdown literally has zero impact on ICE.”
The primary impact would land on other agencies, including the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), which oversees emergency response to natural disasters.
The Transportation Security Administration, which runs airport safety, warned on X that a prolonged shutdown could result in longer wait times and canceled flights.
Negotiations stalled
The shutdown would be the third of Trump’s second term, including a record 43-day government closure last October and November.
The government just reopened from a smaller, four-day partial shutdown earlier this month, also over DHS funding.
Even if all 53 Republican senators vote to fund DHS, Senate rules require support from 60 of the body’s 100 members to advance the budget bill, meaning several Democrats would need to get on board.
In response to the Democrats’ demands, the White House said it was ready to negotiate over immigration enforcement policy.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune called it “an extremely serious offer,” but warned Democrats are “never going to get their full wish list.”
Some concessions were made during the previous shutdown amid Democratic pressure and national outcry after federal agents shot and killed Renee Good, a mother of three, and Alex Pretti, a nurse who worked with military veterans, in Minneapolis last month.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said federal agents in the city would wear body cameras “effective immediately” in a move that would be later “expanded nationwide.”
The Senate went into recess for a week starting Thursday, but senators could be called back to Washington in case of a rapid leap in negotiations.
For the moment, however, talks between the White House and Democrats appear to be at a standstill.
Thousands of government workers, from airport security agents to disaster relief officials, will either be furloughed or forced to work without pay until funding is agreed upon by Congress.
At the center of the budget dispute is the department’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), whose agents killed two US citizens amid sweeping raids and mass protests in Minneapolis.
Democrats oppose any new funding for DHS until major changes are implemented over how ICE conducts its operations.
In particular, they have demanded curtailed patrols, a ban on ICE agents wearing face masks during operations and the requirement that they obtain a judicial warrant to enter private property.
“Donald Trump and Republicans have decided that they have zero interest in getting ICE under control,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said Friday.
“Dramatic changes are needed,” Jeffries told a news conference. “Absent that, Republicans have decided to shut down parts of the federal government.”
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt put the blame on the opposition, telling Fox News that “Democrats are barreling our government toward another shutdown for political and partisan reasons.”
But while DHS faces a shutdown, ICE itself will remain operational, under funds approved in last year’s government spending bill.
Senator John Fetterman pushed against his fellow Democrats, saying: “This shutdown literally has zero impact on ICE.”
The primary impact would land on other agencies, including the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), which oversees emergency response to natural disasters.
The Transportation Security Administration, which runs airport safety, warned on X that a prolonged shutdown could result in longer wait times and canceled flights.
Negotiations stalled
The shutdown would be the third of Trump’s second term, including a record 43-day government closure last October and November.
The government just reopened from a smaller, four-day partial shutdown earlier this month, also over DHS funding.
Even if all 53 Republican senators vote to fund DHS, Senate rules require support from 60 of the body’s 100 members to advance the budget bill, meaning several Democrats would need to get on board.
In response to the Democrats’ demands, the White House said it was ready to negotiate over immigration enforcement policy.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune called it “an extremely serious offer,” but warned Democrats are “never going to get their full wish list.”
Some concessions were made during the previous shutdown amid Democratic pressure and national outcry after federal agents shot and killed Renee Good, a mother of three, and Alex Pretti, a nurse who worked with military veterans, in Minneapolis last month.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said federal agents in the city would wear body cameras “effective immediately” in a move that would be later “expanded nationwide.”
The Senate went into recess for a week starting Thursday, but senators could be called back to Washington in case of a rapid leap in negotiations.
For the moment, however, talks between the White House and Democrats appear to be at a standstill.
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