Aaron Ross
Des Moines Police are looking for a suspect in a fatal shooting Sunday afternoon on the city’s east side.
The victim, 28-year-old Aaron John Ross of Des Moines, was shot to death just after 1 p.m. while sitting in a car in the 1200 block of East 13th Street. Des Moines Police Sergeant Paul Parizek says a woman and two children who were also in the car were not injured.
“Probably the most disturbing thing about it is those two children who were sitting in the back of the car,” Parizek told Radio Iowa. “It takes a special kind of evil to spray a car with bullets knowing there are two young kids in the back seat.” Parizek said the children are both under the age of 10. This is Des Moines’ ninth homicide of the year.
“This is a very specific, targeted incident. There’s nothing random about it,” Parizek said. “As far as motive goes, that’s something we’ll have to determine as we locate the suspect and maybe get some more information from people in the community. Obviously, absent the victim’s ability to fill us in, motive is hard to determine until you know who’s exactly all involved.” Parizek is confident an arrest will be made soon.
“We’ve got some really good investigative leads…forensic evidence that was gathered and good statements from witnesses,” Parizek said. The nine homicides this year is down considerably from 2017, when Des Moines has a total of 25 killings – the most since 1978 (27 homicides).
(Photo courtesy of Des Moines police)