Stashaun Brown
Ames in Story CountyOn Friday, Oct. 29, 2021, Stashaun Brown, 23, was killed in a shooting at a Halloween party outside the Elks Lodge in Ames, IA.
Officers responded to the Elk’s Lodge at 522 Douglas Avenue just before midnight after receiving a report of shots fired.
Officers found a male victim, later identified as Brown, with a gunshot wound to the chest in the adjacent parking lot.
Ames police said it appeared the Des Moines man was shot when multiple groups of people at a private party hosted at the Elk’s Lodge exchanged gunfire.
Police reported a crowd of approximately 100 people outside the lodge.
No other injuries were reported.
Brown was transported to Mary Greeley Medical Center where he was later pronounced deceased.
Police believe that a fight escalated into the shooting, Cmdr. Jason Tuttle previously told the Des Moines Register, and that multiple people fired their guns. By the time police arrived, some people had fled the scene, and 23-year-old Brown was found with a gunshot injury, the Ames Tribune reported Nov. 1, 2021.
Several agencies were called in to assist in the investigation, including the Story County Sheriff’s Office, Iowa State Patrol, and the Iowa State University Police Department. Police are asking anyone who was at the Elk’s Lodge that night to contact them at 515-239-5533.
Douglas Avenue, between the Elks Lodge and the library, was blocked off Saturday morning as the Ames Police Department conducted its investigation. The Ames Public Library remained open; visitors walked in through the north door in the alleyway.
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Courtesy Amber Mohmand/Des Moines Register“We have very little information,” Ames Police Commander Jason Tuttle acknowledged the morning after the homicide to the Story County News. “Several people we tried to talk to said they didn’t want to talk to us. They said they didn’t see anything and were not cooperative.”
Authorities were also led to believe that the shooting was preceded by a fight that began at the scene. “There was some type of altercation that occurred right outside the entry doors of the lodge,” Tuttle stated. “We think it started out as a physical altercation and then turned into multiple people pulling out guns and firing at each other.”
No arrests have been made, and no information about any suspects has ever been released.
Crime Stoppers is offering a $1,000 cash reward in the hope that someone who knows anything about the shooting comes forward.
Tips can be submitted to the Ames Police Department at (515) 239-5133 or the anonymous tip line at (515) 239-5533. Tips can also be submitted to Crime Stoppers of Central Iowa at (515)223-1400 or online.
Stashaun Durell Lee Brown was born Aug. 16, 1998.
He passed away on October 30, 2021. A public visitation was held at Henderson’s Highland Park Funeral Home on Monday, November 8, 2021, from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. Funeral services followed the visitation at 3 p.m.
Stashaun was laid to rest at Glendale Cemetery in Des Moines, Iowa.
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