Two students are dead, and a teacher is injured after a shooting at a Des Moines, Iowa school that police say “was not random,” but “definitely targeted.”
When police arrived they performed CPR on the students, who later died at the hospital, The Associated Press reports. The teacher is undergoing surgery. Several suspects are in custody.
“The incident was definitely targeted. It was not random. There was nothing random about this,” Sgt. Paul Parizek said.
The AP adds that the shooting occurred at the Starts Right Here educational mentorship program, “which helps at-risk youth,” and “was founded by Will Holmes, a rapper whose stage name is Will Keeps.”
Des Moines police provided an update to KCCI.
According to the Gun Violence Archive, 2698 people have died by guns already this year. Last year, a total of 44,287 people died by guns in America, a decrease from the 45,098 who died by guns in 2021.
Good Morning Iowa anchor Chenue Her posted this video:
Giffords, the anti-gun violence organization led by former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, said: “Again, again, and again. Two students have been killed and a teacher injured in a school shooting in Des Moines, Iowa. We’ve barely taken a breath and processed the shootings in Monterey Park and Baton Rouge—yet another community is now hurting.”
In a shooting this weekend in Monterey Park, California, 11 people were killed, the last dying on Monday.