CRIME & COURTS

2 found dead in Des Moines home

Linh Ta
lta@dmreg.com
Police are investigating two deaths at a home at 3918 Center Street in Des Moines.

Two adults were found dead in a Des Moines home Monday afternoon after police received reports of a shooting.

The adults, who have not been identified, were found in the home at 3918 Center St. with an infant and toddler, said Sgt. Paul Parizek, spokesman for Des Moines police. Both children were unharmed. The police were called just before 3 p.m.

A witness checked on the residents and found the bodies of the adults, police said. Officers were seen removing and carrying an infant and a child from the scene with towels covering their heads, according to footage from WHO-HD. Several small dogs were also taken from the home.

Police are treating the deaths as suspicious, Parizek said. Investigators were processing the scene for evidence Monday evening.

Krissy Wetrich, a neighbor who lives on 40th Street, said her backyard is near the home where the shooting was reported.

"I'm shocked," Wetrich said. "I have an 11-year-old who stays home alone by herself for a few hours. Now I'm afraid to leave her home."

She said she heard drinking and partying from the home, but she never met the residents.

"It scares me because what if I can't protect her?" Wetrich said about her daughter. "You can't trust anyone anymore."

According to a police news release, the 3900 block of Center Street will be closed to traffic for several hours.

If the deaths are found to be the result of homicide, they will be the 18th and 19th killings reported in Des Moines in 2015. Monday's fatalities continue a deadly stretch for Des Moines. One person died and another was injured in a shooting in the Court Avenue entertainment district Sunday. A week prior to that incident, a Des Moines man was arrested for allegedly shooting and killing his wife and daughter Nov. 22.