Police: Two Students Dead, One Adult Injured After Shooting at Iowa Charter School

The Starts Right Here charter school, which is affiliated with the Des Moines school district, was founded by rapper Will Keeps as a means to assist at-risk youths.

Two students were killed and one adult was left injured on Monday after a shooting took place near an Iowa charter school, local police have confirmed.

Iowa officials detailed during a briefing that the shooting took place at the Starts Right Here charter school in downtown Des Moines, adding that officers were called to the scene just before 1 p.m. local time.

"The first officers here did find three people with gunshot injuries, two of them were in very critical conditions," Des Moines Officer Paul Parizek said during a news conference. "Those two people, both students, are dead now at the hospital."

BREAKING UPDATE: Des Moines police say two students are now dead, one staff member still in the hospital.

Three potential suspects are all in custody.

Police say this shooting happened at the Starts Right Here charter school in downtown Des Moines. pic.twitter.com/MRk6GinGno

— Chenue Her (@ChenueHer) January 23, 2023

Officials had attempted to resuscitate the two students; however both died at the hospital. The third person, who was initially described as a teacher, has since been identified by Des Moines Mayor Frank Cownie as Will Keeps, the rapper and activist who founded the center. He was described as being in serious condition.

Authorities have since taken into custody three suspects, who police say were apprehended some 20 minutes after the shooting was reported to law enforcement officials. Police stated the unidentified individuals were located roughly two miles from the scene inside a car.

Although police have not offered details on the ages of the students killed, or descriptions of the detained suspects, it's believed the shooting was intentional.

"The incident was definitely targeted. It was not random," Parizek has said. "There was nothing random about this."

A motive for the shooting remains unclear amid an ongoing investigation.

The Iowa shooting comes just days after at least 11 people were killed at a dance studio in California's Monterey Park late Saturday, and after 12 people were shot at a Louisiana bar early Sunday.