Des Moines shooting: Armed suspect was 70-year-old resident of the building
Two Des Moines police officers are on paid administrative assignment following a shooting early Tuesday morning that left an armed suspect dead.
Police responded to the 400 block of Grand Avenue just after 6 a.m. Tuesday on the report of a man threatening a woman with a gun.
"The first call was that there was a woman who was being threatened with a gun. We had a 911 caller, and we could hear a conversation where she was saying, 'Please don't kill me,'" said Des Moines police spokesman Sgt. Paul Parizek.
Officers attempted to negotiate with the man, who was reportedly pointing a pistol at the woman on the first floor of The Elsie Apartments.
Parizek says the two officers who fired multiple shots didn't have much time to think.
They say the suspect had threatened a receptionist at the apartment complex, and other residents were coming and going.
Police officers were on the sidewalk and could see the suspect through the window of the lobby.
"As the officers were positioning themselves outside, they were able to see inside and see that he had a pistol in his hand. And they started the negotiation process. That opportunity never presented itself because he raised the pistol in their direction, and they fired," Parizek explained.
The suspect and the officers involved have not yet been publicly identified. It's unclear how many shots the officers fired, or if the suspect fired his weapon. No other injuries were reported.
On Tuesday afternoon, the DMPD said the suspect who was killed was a 70-year-old man who lived in the Elsie Apartments building. The two officers who fired at the man both started with the DMPD in 2022. One is a 25-year-old with four years of law enforcement experience. The other officer is 24.
The officers have been placed on paid administrative assignment, which is department policy following an on-duty critical or traumatic incident.
The State Division of Criminal Investigation is now investigating the police shooting, which is routine.
Des Moines shooting: Sgt. Paul Parizek explains use of deadly force
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