Police: Shooting that killed 2 at youth program was targeted

By SCOTT McFETRIDGE and HEATHER HOLLINGSWORTH
Associated Press

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Investigators say in a charging document that an 18-year-old who was involved in an ongoing gang dispute walked into the common area of an Iowa alternative education program for at-risk students and fatally shot two teenagers in a premeditated attack. They say in the document released Tuesday that Preston Walls chased one of the teen victims down and shot him several more times when he tried to run. Police say Walls killed two males ages 18 and 16 in the attack Monday at the Starts Right Here program in Des Moines. The founder of the program was seriously wounded. Officers captured Walls leaving the scene. He is charged with two counts of first-degree murder and other crimes.