DES MOINES – One man is dead and three others are injured, after an early morning shooting in a church parking lot.
SECOND UPDATE:
It happened outside the Zion Lutheran Church in Des Moines’ Beaverdale neighborhood around 2:30 a.m. Sunday morning.
Ruot Gach, 19, of Carroll, died just outside of the church in its parking lot. Yien Nhial, 27, of Des Moines was taken to the hospital to be treated for his injuries. Simon Joseph, 23, of Des Moines was found inside a vehicle police tracked down, and the other occupants were interviewed by detectives. The fourth man is Tethloach Jock, 28, of Des Moines. He checked himself in to the hospital after he says he too was shot.
“They happened so quickly it sounded like a string of fireworks going off,” said John Harvey, who lives right by the church, as he described what he heard early Sunday morning.
The shooting in the Zion Lutheran Church parking lot rattled neighbors, like Harvey, just hours before Sunday services started.
“I could hear agitated voices over in the parking lot here and couldn’t tell what they were saying but they sounded maybe a touch angry but mostly just agitated,” Harvey said.
Harvey also mentioned he has seen activity in that parking lot over the past few months, but is unsure if the activity is related.
“I’ve seen what appear to be small groups real small like four to six maximum of young people standing in the parking lot over here late at night,” Harvey said.
Police say s Sudanese engagement ceremony was happening inside the church at the time of the shooting, but do not believe the violence was directly related to the event. They also said that they recovered a firearm from the scene, and that it is connected to this homicide investigation.
Despite this deadly shooting, the church stayed open for morning services. And those who worship at the Zion Lutheran Church say they are thankful they had a place to pray.
“It’s very important to gather and comfort and encourage each other when we are in times of distress and when we witness first hand something so tragic that very well could have been us or our children,” said churchgoer Karmela Lofthus.
Some said the pastors discussed the shooting during services, as a way to heal and talk through the confusion.
“I wanted to have some focus and not go and hide but take something, try to figure out what we could do to help out with this situation this morning as well as some things that have been happening for the last few months, said churchgoer Brent Thompson.
Sunday’s shooting is Des Moines’s 15th homicide of 2017 – and already the third in the Beaverdale neighborhood. Alfonso Perez works as a community leader for the church, and also serves as a Chaplain for the Des Moines Police Department. He says he is now thinking more about what he can do to help.
“Our heart is all the more to reinforce those efforts, to reach out to the kids to reach out to the youth, I think we’re more resolved to continually do more with our community in terms of reaching hurting youth,” Perez said.
Still, after the deadly shooting Sunday, neighbors wonder if they are really safe where they are.
“They’re going to think about whether we ought to live in this neighborhood if anything like this happens again, I think we won’t,” Harvey said.
Des Moines Police say they are continuing to interview witnesses and follow leads in this case. No arrests have been made, as of Sunday night.
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FIRST UPDATE:
Police have released the names of the people involved in the Sunday morning shooting.
Yien Nhial, 27, of Des Moines was taken to the hospital to be treated for his injuries. Ruot Gach, 19, of Carroll, died just outside of the church in its parking lot. Simon Joseph, 23, of Des Moines was found inside the vehicle police tracked down.
The fourth man is Tethloach Jock, 28, of Des Moines. He checked himself in to the hospital after he says he too was shot.
We’ll keep you updated as we learn more information.
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ORIGINAL STORY:
DES MOINES – Police detectives are now looking into a possible shooting incident that took place outside of a church parking lot around 2:30 a.m. Sunday.
Police say officers arrived at Zion Lutheran Church on 4300 Beaver Avenue and found two men who had been shot. The first victim was taken to the hospital to get his injuries taken care of, while the second man had already died.
Witnesses told officers about a vehicle description of the car they believe shot the two men. Police say officers were able to catch up to them shortly afterwards, and found a third shooting victim inside that vehicle. He was taken to the hospital by first responders from the fire department. The officers were found other people inside of the vehicle, and detectives questioned them. Police are trying to determine their roles in the alleged shooting.
Police also found a possible fourth shooting victim. He took himself to the hospital early Sunday morning.
By early Sunday morning, detectives were still at the crime scene, gathering evidence and interviewing witnesses. We’ll bring you more information as it becomes available.
