Six teens charged with murder in Iowa high school shooting

Teenager who was kille was not a student at East High School in Des Monies when targeted in the drive-by shooting

School Shooting Iowa (Zach Boyden-Holmes/The Register)

Six teenagers have been charged with murder and attempted murder in an Iowa high school shooting that left one dead and two critically injured.

Police said the drive-by shooting outside East High School in Des Moines on Monday was targeted at the 15-year-old boy who was killed, while the 16- and 18-year-old girls injured were bystanders.

"Within one hour of the incident, almost all of the suspects were in custody. Within several hours, all were, " police spokesman Paul Parizek told The Des Monies Register.

Police said the gunfire came from multiple vehicles and the six Des Monies teenagers arrested face charges of first-degree murder and two counts of attempted murder. They include Octavio Lopez, 17, Nyang Chamdual, 14, Manuel Buezo, 16, Romero Perdomo, 16, Alex Perdomo, 15, and Henry Valladares-Amaya, 17.

Shell casings were recovered at the scene and police seized six firearms after searching five residential homes and six vehicles within the city, Mr Parizek said.

The victim, who has not been identified, did not attend the high school where he was shot shortly before 3 pm local time on Monday afternoon.

The school went into a brief lockdown before students were released. Classes were cancelled on Tuesday while grief counsellors were offered to staff and students for the rest of the week.

“Our entire community is in mourning right now,” Des Moines Superintendent Thomas Ahart said on Monday. “We do not have young lives to spare in Des Moines.”

There have been at least 11 school shootings in the city so far in 2022, which Is the first year since 1999 that officers have not been stationed in Des Monies schools. The school board removed officers in 2021 for fear racist offers disproportionately targeted non-white students.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms have joined the investigation.