DES MOINES, Iowa — An 18-year-old who police say was involved in an ongoing gang dispute walked into the common area of an alternative education program for at-risk students and fatally shot two teenagers in a premeditated attack — chasing one of them down and shooting him several more times when he tried to run, according to a charging document released, Tuesday.
Police said the shooting, on Monday, that also left the founder of the Starts Right Here program with life-threatening injuries was a targeted attack. The founder, 49-year-old William Holmes, underwent surgery and was in serious condition.
Police, on Tuesday, identified those killed as 18-year-old Gionni Dameron and 16-year-old Rashad Carr.
Holmes, an activist and rapper who goes by the stage name Will Keeps, joined a gang as a 13-year-old in Chicago but moved to Iowa more than two decades ago and dedicated his life to helping young people in need, according to his LinkedIn page.
Eighteen-year-old Preston Walls of Des Moines was charged with two counts of first-degree murder, one count of attempted murder and one count of criminal gang participation. He made a brief court appearance, Tuesday, with a preliminary hearing scheduled for Feb. 3.
Walls is jailed on $1 million bond. The Polk County public defender’s office, which will provide his attorney, declined comment.
Walls was on supervised release for a weapons charge, and he cut off his ankle monitor 16 minutes before the shooting, police said.
“There was nothing random about this,” Police Sgt. Paul Parizek said.
Investigators say in the charging document that Walls had a 9 mm semiautomatic handgun with a high-capacity extended magazine concealed on him when he entered a common area of the Starts Right Here program. The affidavit said Holmes tried to escort Walls out, but Walls pulled away, drew the gun and shot the two teenagers several times.
The document said one victim tried to flee, but Walls chased him down “and shot him multiple more times.” The document showed only the initials of the victim, G.D., indicating it was Dameron.
Holmes was struck by the gunfire. No further details about his injuries have been released.
Responding officers saw a suspicious vehicle leaving the area and stopped it. Police said Walls ran but was found hiding in a brush pile with the 9 mm handgun next to him. The ammunition magazine, which has a capacity of 31 rounds, contained three, police said.
According to the affidavit, the shooting was captured on surveillance video, and Walls’ clothing and his Glock firearm matched those seen on the video.
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