Shooting near Des Moines middle school track meet causes scare
Some scary moments occurred Monday night after a shooting near an all-city middle school track meet on the east side of Des Moines.
Police said one man was shot, and the track meet at Williams Field was shut down early as a precaution to protect the hundreds of kids at the event.
"My daughter called and said there was a shooting," said Katie Martin, a parent.
Martin and her daughter had a scary night at the all-city track meet. She said she didn't hear the shots but saw the ambulances, fire engines, and police cars scream up the street next to Williams Field.
"That's pretty upsetting, pretty jarring to see and hear those things happen," said Sgt. Paul Parizek, of the Des Moines Police Department.
Police said one man was targeted and shot near a home across from the track meet. He is not cooperating with the police. A short time later, school officials stopped the track meet, asked the students to gather in the center field, and made sure everyone was OK.
"The schools made the decision to cancel that out of an abundance of caution, and that was a good decision to make. And at that point, people probably aren't really going to be able to focus on the task at hand anyway," Parizek said.
Martin said her daughter was a bit shaken up after the shooting. But she and other parents said they're glad students were safe.
"It was kind of surreal. But also at the same time, it didn't seem like it was that dangerous or anything," Martin said.
Police are still looking for the suspect in the shooting. They urge anyone with information to give them a call.
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