PLEASANT HILL, Iowa — A close-knit cul-de-sac community in Pleasant Hill is still reeling after a police call turned deadly last Saturday.
Neighbors were enjoying a sunny afternoon when they began to hear loud booms around 1 p.m., according to a press release from Pleasant Hill police.
Jeff Bachelder, who has lived in the community since 2020, had just returned home from grabbing lunch.
“I started hearing noises, and my dog barked quite a bit," Bachelder said. "I let her out and I just thought somebody was pounding a post into the ground.”
But those loud booms were actually gunshots. A 25-year-old man, later identified as Bradley Robert Van Heeswyk, drove up to the cul-de-sac, parked in a driveway and began opening fire at a home just doors down from Bachelder's.
A family member, who lives directly across the street, flagged him down.
"I went over there and she told me that two Polk County Sherriff's Deputies had went through her house and that shots had been fired," Bachelder said.
After three neighbors placed separate 9`1 calls, Pleasant Hill and other metro police officers responded within minutes. One officer shot Van Heeswyk, and he succumbed to his injuries after being taken to a local hospital.
Michael McNeley, who also lives in the neighborhood, caught the incident on his home's Nest doorbell camera.
Bachelder recalls hearing anywhere from 30 to 60 rounds fired, something he says his community never could've prepared for.
“Nothing has ever happened like this in the neighborhood ... it's a small, tight-knit community," he said. "I was just a little bit in shock on Saturday afternoon because it just doesn’t make any sense.”
With several young kids living in the neighborhood, he says he's grateful none were out playing when the shooting took place.
Both of the homeowners' dogs were killed, according to a media release. The Pleasant Hill Police Department and the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation are still investigating.