Des Moines police: Man who shot houses, cars dies

DES MOINES (AP) — Authorities say a man who fired dozens of rounds at houses and passing cars in a Des Moines neighborhood before exchanging gunfire with police has died.

Des Moines police say 38-year-old Steven Jon Vogel died Wednesday night.

Police say Vogel used two guns Wednesday afternoon to shoot about 100 rounds within 20 minutes on the city’s south side. He hit seven houses and three cars and wounded a man who drove himself to a clinic and was later taken to a hospital for treatment of a grazing wound to his head.

Police say Vogel then exchanged gunfire with officers, who later found him in his backyard, not moving.

The officers, Lt. David Seybert and Officer Zachary McCarthy, will be placed on paid administrative leave pending a review of the shooting.

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DES MOINES (AP) — A man shot at passing cars Wednesday in a Des Moines neighborhood before being critically injured in an exchange of gunfire with police, authorities said.

A second man was shot at some point, but drove himself to a medical clinic with injuries that didn’t appear life-threatening and was transferred to a hospital, Des Moines Police Sgt. Jason Halifax told The Associated Press.

Around 3:30 p.m., police received multiple reports of shots being fired on the city’s south side. Several officers, including some who were not in uniform, rushed to the area and exchanged shots with the suspect, whose name was not immediately released.

Halifax said it’s not clear whether police shot the man or he was struck by his own bullets. He was taken into custody and transported to a hospital, where he was listed in critical condition, the police sergeant said.

The man was not moving when officers found him in the backyard of a house with a rifle and a handgun, Halifax said. Records show the man had lived at the home, the sergeant said.

Halifax said the man faces multiple charges. Details about the specific charges were not released.

Multiple vehicles were left with bullet holes and shattered windows. A nearby high school was placed on lockdown temporarily.

Michelle Lundy told The Des Moines Register she saw a neighbor firing the shots from his back deck. She said she called 911 and brought her three young children into the basement.

“I was terrified when the police got here because I was afraid he was in close proximity to our back door,” Lundy told the newspaper. “I was worried he might come through our door.”