A 31-year-old man is dead after a shooting overnight near Marine View Drive S in Des Moines, and police say the suspect fled before officers could make an arrest. Des Moines police officers found the man suffering from gunshot wounds and gave him first aid at the scene, but he died before the situation could be reversed.
The shooting happened around 1:55 a.m. Sunday near Marine View Drive S, according to Des Moines police cited by FOX 13 Seattle. Responding officers arrived after receiving reports of a shooting, provided immediate first aid, and called for medics, but the victim succumbed to his injuries, according to KIRO 7 News. Police say the suspect fled the area following the shooting and has not been located.
Des Moines police are conducting an ongoing investigation and have asked anyone with information to contact the department at 206-878-3301.
Marine View Drive Shut Down for Investigation
Police detour guidance following the shooting advised drivers to avoid Marine View Drive S while detectives processed the crime scene, closing the roadway between S 222nd Street and S 223rd Street, per the same KIRO 7 account.
The overnight closure and ongoing investigation come as city leaders have been actively promoting economic development along the waterfront corridor, making the location of Sunday's shooting a particularly sensitive one for a business district still building momentum. Des Moines police have not said whether the shooting is connected to any nearby businesses or whether surveillance footage from the area is being reviewed.
Second South King County Shooting in Less Than a Week
This is the second fatal shooting in the South King County area in less than a week. Five days earlier, on September 15, a young man was fatally shot at the Kent-Des Moines Park-and-Ride lot on Military Road South in nearby Kent, according to The Waterland Blog, which Hoodline covered in its report on the targeted park-and-ride killing. Police in that case said the shooting appeared to be targeted, though it remains unclear whether the two incidents are related.
The back-to-back shootings come even as regional gun violence trends have been improving. Gun violence homicides across King County fell 22% in 2025 compared to 2024, with total firearm injuries dropping 45%, according to annual reporting from the King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office released in February. In the second quarter of 2026 alone, law enforcement agencies across the county still reported 14 fatal shooting victims and 44 nonfatal shooting victims across 260 total shots-fired incidents, per the same office's data.
Des Moines police have not indicated which charge, if any, they anticipate pursuing, and the motive behind Sunday's shooting remains unknown. Anyone with information about the shooting is urged to contact the Des Moines Police Department.
