DES MOINES – Police were forced to gun down an armed teen Monday morning in Des Moines, authorities say.
Des Moines police said Monday they were involved in an early morning shooting incident.
Officers arrived on scene and located the 16-year-old, armed with a handgun, within an apartment was occupied by other family members. Officers began several minutes of negotiations in an effort to de-escalate the situation. During that time, several pleas were made for him to put the handgun down. As de-escalation efforts continued, he raised the handgun in the direction of officers. More than one officer fired their handgun, striking him. Officers immediately began life-saving efforts, including CPR. Des Moines Fire Department medics responded to the scene and assumed those efforts as they transported the patient to a local hospital. He later died at the hospital.
Des Moines Police Department detectives, assisted by agents with the Iowa Department of Public Safety Division of Criminal Investigation are investigating this incident.
“Incidents such as this are tragic on many fronts, and they impact our entire community,” police said later. “Our officers regularly respond with courage to calls for help where they know there is a very real danger. That courage does not make them immune to the trauma that follows the circumstances that they encounter. Following standard supportive procedures, the officers involved here are on critical-incident leave.
“The young man involved in this incident, whose actions led to an emergency call for help from the police and brought us to this home, has a family that is also struggling. Our thoughts are also with them during this difficult time.”
