March 29, 2024

Des Moines police ID 2 men fatally shot on Saturday

DES MOINES — Des Moines police have identified two men killed in an early morning shooting on the city’s east side.

Police say officers were called just after 3 a.m. Saturday to Easton Boulevard to investigate a shooting and found two men with gunshot wounds. Police say 26-year-old Darnell Lee, of Des Moines, died at the scene, and 30-year-old Jason Smith, also of Des Moines, died at a hospital.

Police continued to investigate and hadn’t made any arrests.

The killings were the city’s 17th and 18th homicides this year. That compares to 13 homicides in all of 2016.