DES MOINES, Iowa — A teenager is dead after Des Moines police officers shot him during an armed standoff early Monday morning.
According to a DMPD press release, officers responded to an apartment on the 400 block of East McKinley Avenue shortly after midnight in response to a domestic dispute call.
Police said the adult caller reported that his 16-year-old relative was armed with a handgun.
That teenager was found still armed, and with other family members when officers arrived on scene. Police said they tried to de-escalate the situation through negotiations for several minutes, pleading for the suspect to put down his weapon.
Police said the teenage suspect eventually raised the gun toward the officers, and multiple officers fired their handguns and hit him.
According to police, officers began to perform life-saving measures on the 16-year-old, until medics arrived and took over. He was then taken to the hospital where he later died.
Police said the officers' body cameras were recording during the incident.
The names and rank of the officers involved are:
- Senior Police Officer Noah Bollinger
- Senior Police Officer Zachary Duitscher
- Senior Police Officer Thomas Garcia
All of the officers are five-year veterans with the police department and have been placed on critical incident leave.
Residents of the neighborhood told Local 5 that police sirens around the local apartment buildings are a familiar sight.
"There's many times where you can just come from work or school and then you'll see like two police cars in front of those apartments," said Eder Moreno.
However, despite occasional disturbances, the surrounding neighborhood tends to be pretty peaceful.
"It's a good experience living here," Moreno said. "Can't complain. Really good neighbors. Pretty calm. It's an amazing neighborhood to live in."
This is the first officer-involved shooting of 2022 with the Des Moines Police Department.
The Iowa Department of Public Safety Division of Criminal Investigation, along with DMPD detectives, are investigating the incident.
Local 5 will update this story as more information becomes available. Download the We Are Iowa app or subscribe to Local 5's "5 Things to Know" email newsletter for the latest.