Victims’ cars riddled with bullets in crossfire from Des Moines shootout

An Auburn man caught in the crossfire of a shootout in Des Moines Saturday night says he came within inches of being killed or injured.

The 26-year-old man was driving home from a barbecue gathering at his Des Moines-area church around 9:00 p.m., headed east on S. 260^th near Pacific Highway S., when shooters at a Shell gas station opened fire.

Bullets struck his car five times.

Des Moines police investigators say a total of three cars were hit by the gunfire, including one that was hit by at least 20 bullets.

No injuries were reported from the occupants of any of the cars.

Police do not know whether the driver of the vehicle hit 20 times was the target of the shooting.

It’s unclear how many bullets hit the third vehicle, but police say the driver of that car bailed out, and ran off from the shooting scene.

It’s believed the shooting suspects were on foot at the Shell station, but the investigation is still ongoing.

Detectives are reviewing surveillance video.

Police say they recovered at total of 68 shell casings from the scene.

The shots that riddled a car with five bullets is owned by a man goes by the name “Didi,” who asked us not to share his last name.

The gunfire left holes in Didi’s 2008 Toyota Corolla, but luckily, he was not hurt.

Three rounds hit the driver’s side.

Two hit the passenger side.

Gunfire hit the victim’s rear windows on both the driver’s side and passenger side.  (Photo: Tom Brock, KIRO Newsradio)

“The only thing I could hear was like fireworks,” he said.  “I didn’t know it was a shooting.”

But he soon realized he was in danger and was directly in the line of fire.

“The only thing I could hear was something bumping my window,”  he said.  “I was in shock.   I couldn’t believe that.  It just happened suddenly.  The only thing I can say was God saved me.”

Two of the rounds left gaping holes in the Toyota’s left-front fender, inches from where he sat in the driver’s seat.

Another bullet pierced the driver’s side rear window.

Two more shots shattered the passenger-side rear window.

No one else was in the car with him.

Des Moines Assistant Police Chief Cory Stanton says the 68 shell casings recovered are the most recovered from any shooting scene in the city this year.

“It’s unnerving and thankfully nobody was hit,” Stanton said.  “It’s still dangerous people on the streets and we’re going to work every angle we can to get them off the street.”

Didi says it was too dark to get a good look at the shooters’ faces, or the license plates of any  vehicles involved.

But he could tell one of the cars that sped off from the scene was white.

It’s unclear whether anyone involved in the shootout was hit by gunfire.

A man of strong religious convictions, Didi credits his faith in God for preserving his life and preventing injury.

In fact, he said just a couple of hours before the shooting happened, he was struggling with his own depression and anxiety.

And he said a prayer.

“I said, ‘God I know that you’re real.  But I just want you to show me that.’ ”

He says he believes that’s exactly what God did.

“And I said, ‘Okay, I’m going to sit down and I’m going to let you take the wheel.’  So he just showed me.  I can say, God is real.  He just saved me.”

Didi says as soon as he realized he was caught in the crossfire, the driver of the white car took off at a very high rate of speed.

“The only thing I could see was a white car,” he said.  “No license plate, because it was too dark.”

Officers responded to the scene and collected evidence, including the 68 shell casings recovered.

Didi says regardless of whether the suspects are eventually identified, the close call has certainly strengthened his own faith.

“I can say God was in my car, you know.  I am a Christian guy and I can say I got lucky that night.  God wanted me to see (the next day) Sunday.  I can feel it.  The crazy part is that I was just praying, two hours before this happened.

“And He showed me.  Because I asked him to show me He is real, and he just showed me.”