Iowa: two students dead after school shooting

This Monday afternoon, the Des Moines City (Iowa) Police Department confirmed that two students were killed from a school shooting. The director of the educational program was wounded and is hospitalized in serious condition.

Around 13:00, following an emergency call, police and fire personnel responded to the school located at 455 SW 5th Street, where they found two seriously injured minors. Both were taken to the hospital, but were pronounced dead within hours.

William Holmes, founder of the Starts Right Here program that helps at-risk youth and works at the school, was also shot. This Monday night, Holmes was hospitalized in intensive care.

"It was not random"

In statements reported by Associated Press, Sgt. Paul Parizek said it was a premeditated attack: "The incident was definitely targeted. It was not random. There was nothing random about this," he said.

Shortly after the shooting, three suspects were arrested within a few miles of the crime scene, including Preston Walls, 18. According to Des Moines Register, the young man was charged with two counts of murder, one count of attempted murder and one count of criminal gang involvement.