Police have made an arrest in connection to a shots fired incident during a carnival at Valley West Mall last Wednesday night.Police responded to the area for reports of two large fights. That’s when shots were fired, around 9:30 pmWest Des Moines police say no one was hit by a bullet. However, one person suffered minor injuries during a fight before the shots were fired. During the investigation, westbound traffic on Interstate 235 was shut down briefly. West Des Moines police conducted an investigation and were able to match shell casings from the scene with the recovered handgun located shortly after the incident. On Wednesday, June 22, police identified the suspect. Police detectives arrested a 14-year-old boy in relation to the shooting. He has been charged with intimidation with a dangerous weapon and assault causing bodily injury. There is no ongoing threat to the public. No additional information will be provided due to the suspect’s age. The Collective is the newest initiative to join the fray. It’s made up of metro area organizations who plan to come together to provide a safe space for kids and teens. “The solution is much more simple than people like to make it, just having adults that love young people, loving on young people,” said Al Perez, the director of family and students with the Salvation Army. “Just creating environments where they can do some things and it’s very organic; that’s what young people want.” The plan is to start the initiative late this summer or early this fall. It will be an after school and possibly weekend program, matching teens with mentors and so much more. Perez and the team plan to announce locations soon.”If we’re not dealing with their inner man or the students on the inside or wherever the turmoil or brokenness is, we’re missing it altogether,” Perez said. “So this is really an inside out work not an outside in. We can do all the wonderful things and have all the wonderful activities, but until we deal with the generational brokenness, the pain, and the hurt–we’re not going to solve it.” Previous coverage:
Police have made an arrest in connection to a shots fired incident during a carnival at Valley West Mall last Wednesday night.
Police responded to the area for reports of two large fights. That’s when shots were fired, around 9:30 pm
West Des Moines police say no one was hit by a bullet. However, one person suffered minor injuries during a fight before the shots were fired.
During the investigation, westbound traffic on Interstate 235 was shut down briefly.
West Des Moines police conducted an investigation and were able to match shell casings from the scene with the recovered handgun located shortly after the incident.
On Wednesday, June 22, police identified the suspect. Police detectives arrested a 14-year-old boy in relation to the shooting. He has been charged with intimidation with a dangerous weapon and assault causing bodily injury.
The boy has been transported to a juvenile detention facility. There is no ongoing threat to the public. No additional information will be provided due to the suspect’s age.
Situations like this are exactly the type people in the metro want to prevent: teenagers getting wrapped up in violence.
The Collective is the newest initiative to join the fray. It’s made up of metro area organizations who plan to come together to provide a safe space for kids and teens.
“The solution is much more simple than people like to make it, just having adults that love young people, loving on young people,” said Al Perez, the director of family and students with the Salvation Army. “Just creating environments where they can do some things and it’s very organic; that’s what young people want.”
The plan is to start the initiative late this summer or early this fall. It will be an after school and possibly weekend program, matching teens with mentors and so much more. Perez and the team plan to announce locations soon.
“If we’re not dealing with their inner man or the students on the inside or wherever the turmoil or brokenness is, we’re missing it altogether,” Perez said. “So this is really an inside out work not an outside in. We can do all the wonderful things and have all the wonderful activities, but until we deal with the generational brokenness, the pain, and the hurt–we’re not going to solve it.”
Previous coverage:
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