The Cedar Rapids teenager who police say shot five people in Iowa City has been arrested.
Damarian M. Jones, 17, was arrested Monday, May 11, by the U.S. Marshals Service near Atlanta, Georgia. Jones is currently in custody in the Clayton County Jail in Georgia and will be extradited to Iowa pending a hearing in Georgia, according to a news release.
According to a news release from the Iowa City Police Department, Jones will face five counts of attempted murder, three counts of willful injury assault causing serious injury, two counts of willful injury assault causing bodily injury and a count of going armed with intent.
Police say Jones allegedly fired shots into a crowd, injuring five people, as a result of an early morning fight on Sunday, April 19, in Iowa City’s Pedestrian Mall.
ICPD police chief Liston said the initial fight involved roughly 40 people.
Liston said during a news conference on April 22 that Jones was allegedly involved in the fight, obtained a firearm, and fired it into a crowd. The teenager was arrested nearly a month after he was identified.
The wounded were not targeted, Liston said. One person was shot in the arm and chest, two were hit in the legs, and another was hit in the stomach. Three of the wounded were University of Iowa students.
One of the victims suffered a life-threatening injury to her head and remains in critical condition.
ICPD said it identified four other “persons of interest.” No additional arrests have been made.
GoFundMe circulates for Iowa City Ped Mall shooting victim
A recent GoFundMe fundraiser was created for one of the alleged University of Iowa students in the aftermath of the shooting. Created by Janjay Peters, she says her sister, Miranda, was the one shot in the head. The fundraiser has raised more than $200,000 of its $250,000 goal.
According to GoFundMe, Miranda is a student at the University of Iowa pursuing a degree in physician assistant studies. She was allegedly a bystander in the fight and has undergone multiple surgeries since getting shot in the head.
In a May 7 update, the GoFundMe said Miranda was moved out of the ICU and into the neuroscience unit.
“Over the last couple of days, we’ve started seeing small but emotional signs of progress,” Janay Peters said in an update. “She has opened her eyes, blinked, shown slight eye movement, movement in her right hand, and even had slight movement in her right foot. With assistance, she was also able to sit in a chair.”
“These may seem like small things to some, but to us, they are everything right now.”
UIPD vows to increase police presence in downtown Iowa City
The University of Iowa Office of Campus Safety has vowed to increase police presence in downtown Iowa City. Assistant Vice President of Campus Safety, Mark Bullock, said during the April 22 press briefing that the UI Police Department will enlist four additional officers to work with the Iowa City Police Department.
“The support that we’ve had for the Iowa City Police Department is going to continue and it’s going to continue downtown,” Bullock said. “(The additional) police officers will do co-patrols with the additional officers from the Iowa City Police Department. We’ll continue this as we work to plan a long-term, sustainable goal.”
Liston said 11 Iowa City police officers were on duty when the April 19 shooting occurred, including three specifically assigned to patrol the Ped Mall.
The police chief said gun violence in Iowa City is “exceedingly rare,” noting that only eight shootings were recorded in 2025, which included six wounded and one unsolved homicide. The PD also seized 74 guns. Liston compared that number to 2020, in which he said 57 shootings were reported.
“I want people to feel comfortable being downtown and enjoy our wonderful downtown district and anywhere else in Iowa City. I hope they can feel comfortable,” Liston said. “I don’t want one situation, although tragic, to make people think that it’s an unsafe place to be, because it’s not.”
(This story has been updated to include additional information.)
Jessica Rish is an entertainment, dining and education reporter for the Iowa City Press-Citizen. She can be reached at JRish@press-citizen.com or on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @rishjessica_
This article originally appeared on Iowa City Press-Citizen: Iowa teen wanted for Iowa City Ped Mall shooting arrested in Georgia
Reporting by Jessica Rish, Iowa City Press-Citizen / Iowa City Press-Citizen
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