A 16-year-old boy was shot and killed by Des Moines police, who were responding to a call about a domestic dispute early Monday.
According to a news release from Des Moines Police, police arrived at 400 E. McKinley Avenue around 12:30 a.m. after getting a report about a “domestic dispute involving a weapon.” The caller was an adult male calling about his relative, a 16-year-old boy, who had a handgun.
“Officers arrived on scene and located the 16-year-old, armed with a handgun, within an apartment was occupied by other family members,” the report read. “Officers began several minutes of negotiations in an effort to de-escalate the situation.”
The report read that officers continued to plead with the teen to put the gun down, but he then “raised the handgun in the direction of officers,” prompting “more than one officer” to fire, striking the boy.
Officers rushed to attempt life-saving efforts like CPR until the Des Moines Fire Department arrived and took over those efforts while they transported him to the hospital, where he later died.
Officers’ body cameras captured the encounter, and the footage was submitted as evidence for the investigation. The bodycam footage isn’t available to the public. However, a neighbor in a nearby apartment complex captured the sound of the gunshots on his security camera.
In the video, police vehicles were spotted, and gunshots could be heard. After the shots were fired, an officer was seen running back and forward from the apartment where the shooting happened to the car.
The report stated that this was the first time this year that Des Moines police officers had to shoot someone. According to the report, officers were required to go on critical incident leave, adding that each officer is a five-year veteran of the Des Moines Police Department.
In addition to the police department’s detectives, agents with the Iowa Department of Public Safety Division of Criminal Investigation will investigate the incident.
