Victims of Starts Right Here shooting ID'd; founder's family says he'll carry on anti-violence work

As police on Tuesday identified the two teens killed in what they said was a gang-related shooting at a Des Moines youth service organization, the family of the group's founder, who was seriously wounded, said he remains "more determined than ever" to carry on its work.

Rashad Carr, 16, and Gionni Dameron, 18, both of Des Moines, died at a hospital following the shooting at Starts Right Here, which works with Des Moines Public Schools to help at-risk youth stay connected with their schooling and avoid violence.

Des Moines police spokesperson Sgt. Paul Parizek said the two were sitting in a common space at the nonprofit just before 1 p.m. Monday when Preston Walls, 18, of West Des Moines walked in carrying a 9-mm handgun with an extended ammunition magazine.

Parizek said Starts Right Here founder William Holmes, a rapper who goes by the stage name Will Keeps, attempted to escort Walls out of the building, but Walls opened fire, shooting Carr and Dameron multiple times even after they had fallen to the floor. Holmes, standing nearby, also was shot repeatedly.

Walls left the scene in a car that witnesses described to police, who stopped it about 2 miles away near MacRae Park, according to a criminal complaint. Walls tried to flee but was captured hiding in a brush pile in a nearby wooded area, it said.

He was charged with two counts of first-degree murder, attempted murder and illegal gang participation and remained in the Polk County Jail Tuesday. Two other people in the stopped car were released without being charged.

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Police spokesperson calls shooter and slain victims members of 'opposing gangs'

Prosecutors said Walls, who was on supervised release after a June 2022 arrest on charges of interfering with West Des Moines police and other counts, had cut off his GPS ankle monitor about 15 minutes before the shootings. It's not clear how many shots he fired, but a criminal complaint notes that his handgun had a maximum capacity of 31 rounds and contained only three when police recovered it.

"Walls, and both deceased victims, are known gang members, belonging to opposing gangs, and evidence indicates that that these crimes were committed as a result of an ongoing gang dispute," Parizek said in a news release. He did not elaborate on the evidence that links the shootings to rival gangs.

Holmes, taken to a hospital, underwent surgery and was in critical but stable condition Tuesday. His anti-violence advocacy and work to aid troubled youth have made him a popular figure among state and local leaders. A statement released on behalf of his family said that although he "is severely injured, he is now more determined than ever to continue his work with at-risk youth and looks forward to, once again, working hand-in-hand with other community leaders on the mission of Starts Right Here."

"We ask for your continued prayers for everyone involved in this tragedy," the statement added.

Gun taken from East High student a day after Starts Right Here tragedy

Underlining the importance of Holmes' work, Des Moines police said they confiscated a handgun Tuesday from a youth at East High School. Last March, a teen who wasn't a student at East High was shot and killed outside the school and two students were seriously injured in what police described as a gang-related attack.

An email that East High administrators sent to parents Tuesday said school leaders learned a student might have a weapon and alerted the school district's public safety department and Des Moines police. Officers located the student, who was taken to a safe location and then searched, it said.

The search turned up the weapon, the email said, and Parizek said the officers took it from the youth "without incident." The school email said the student, who was not identified, had not shown the weapon in class or made threats, but the school was placed on lockdown.

"This is a very serious matter that will be dealt with by law enforcement and the judicial process," the email said. "From our experience last March here at East to reports of gun violence around the community and across the nation, we are not going to hesitate in responding swiftly to any reports of a weapon on our campus."

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Board says Starts Right Here's work will continue

Police say preventing gang violence is difficult and relies heavily on the work of groups like Holmes'.

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"We are really good at investigating crime, we are really good at taking people to jail, getting guns off the street, but when it comes to the things that cause people to make these decisions, that cause people to find themselves in the circumstances that life sometimes brings them, we can't help with that a lot," Parizek said.

In a statement, the board of Starts Right Here, which includes Des Moines Police Chief Dana Wingert, vowed the organization's work will go on. Gov. Kim Reynolds is a member of a Starts Right Here advisory board.

"We can no longer say this type of violence doesn’t happen in Des Moines," the board said. "Sadly, it does. However, it will not stop us from the work that we are called to do, and that work starts right here."

Francesca Block is a breaking news reporter at the Des Moines Register. Reach her at FBlock@registermedia.com or on Twitter at @francescablock3.

Noelle Alviz-Gransee is a breaking news reporter at the Des Moines Register. Follow her on Twitter at @NoelleHannika or email her at NAlvizGransee@registermedia.com.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa shooting victims killed at Des Moines' Starts Right Here named