TVSpy
A tragedy was narrowly avoided Wednesday night outside of the KCCI studios in Des Moines. A police officer, responding to reports of gun shots near the KCCI building, mistakenly fired a shot at photojournalist Spencer Vaughn. Thankfully the shot missed Vaughn and no one was injured.
The incident occurred shortly after the Hearst-owned station had wrapped up its 10pm newscast. According to KCCI, several of the station’s employees called 9-1-1 after hearing loud bangs and seeing windows shattered. Police arrived on the scene and Vaughn stood outside trying to point out the suspected assailant. A Des Moines officer, who has been identified as Cody Grimes, fired a shot in Vaughn’s direction, mistaking his cell phone for a gun. Vaughn had reportedly been speaking on his phone with police dispatch at the time.
In the end, police apprehended the real perpetrator–27-year-old Jessie Russell Arlo Parish. Parish, though, did not have a gun when the police arrested him. It turned out that he had only been throwing rocks at the building