2 students dead, employee injured in shooting at Iowa school

DES MOINES, Iowa — Two students were killed and an employee was injured Monday during a shooting at a Des Moines, Iowa, school.

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The shooting happened at Starts Right Here, which is affiliated with the Des Moines school district. It’s an education program set up to work with at-risk youth that was founded by Will Holmes, a rapper whose stage name is Will Keeps, according to the AP.

Police said that Holmes was injured in the shooting, the AP reported. The two students killed were an 18-year-old man and a 16-year-old boy.

On Monday evening, police said they arrested an 18-year-old man and charged him with murder, according to the AP. He was identified by police as Preston Walls.

Police said that at the time of the shooting, Walls was on supervised pre-trial release on a weapons charge. According to the AP, he had his ankle bracelet removed just 16 minutes before the shooting. It is believed that Walls and the two students had gang affiliations and were in opposing gangs, authorities said.

The shooting happened just before 1 p.m. local time. Police said that when they arrived at the scene, they found two students who were critically injured, according to the AP.

Officers started CPR, and the students were taken to the hospital, where they later died from their injuries.

The investigation is ongoing. No further information has been released.

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