An Urbandale man was shot in the forehead and critically wounded before 2:30 a.m. Saturday near Drake Park in Des Moines.
Two witnesses told police they found Pius Kipchirchir Koskei, 36, bleeding from the head while sitting in the driver’s seat of a white Hyundai Santa Fe. The vehicle had come to a stop on 21st Street north of Drake Park, police said.
Koskei “was conscious but not alert,” wrote Officer Chad Steffen. “Pius was able to look at me but could not respond to any of my questions.”
Koskei was able to move but not stand on his own or speak, Steffen wrote. He was listed in critical condition at Mercy Medical Center, police said.
There appeared to be a bullet hole through the driver’s side of the vehicle’s windshield, Steffen’s report said. The vehicle was still in drive and running when police arrived.
Emergency dispatchers first received reports of shots fired at 2:23 a.m. A 33-year-old woman who was walking in the area told police she spotted the victim, in his vehicle, stopped in the middle of the street. The woman tried to get Koskei to stop his vehicle and put it in park, but he did not respond.
She thought he was trying to get out of the vehicle but was unable. He tried to speak but could only mumble. Finally, Koskei turned the vehicle left, into the curb, where it came to a stop in the position where police found it. The woman called a friend, a 32-year-old man, at an apartment nearby. He came down and called 911. Detectives were still working in the area at 9:30 a.m. Saturday.
“The case is in the initial stages of the investigation, and detectives are currently working on determining exactly what happened and why,” Sgt. Jeff Edwards, Des Moines police spokesman, said in a news release.
Later the neighborhood was quiet. The only evidence of the incident was bright orange spray paint marking the spot where it happened and a detective studying the markings.
Jerry Hope, who manages the apartments at 1125 21st St., said some of his tenants were grilling food to celebrate a birthday Friday night. He asked them to quiet down around 9:30 p.m., but said when he called in the morning to ask what happened, nobody knew any details.
“Things have been pretty decent this summer,” said Hope, who owns one building on the street and manages four. “The street can go to hell real quick.”
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