Alonzo Lee Kearney, a 29-year-old Black man, was fatally shot during the early morning hours of November 27, 2022, outside Zora Bar and Rooftop in Des Moines, Iowa. Shortly after midnight, police and emergency personnel were dispatched to the business at 2120 Ingersoll Avenue following reports that someone had been shot in the parking lot. When officers arrived, they found Kearney suffering from a gunshot wound amid a large gathering of people outside the establishment.
The scene was
tense and disorderly. Authorities described members of the crowd as hostile, creating difficulties for officers attempting to secure the area and causing a slight delay before emergency medical personnel could safely reach Kearney. Once responders were able to provide assistance, he was taken from the parking lot to a local hospital. Despite efforts to save him, he died from his injuries. Police reported that no other shooting victims were discovered.
Investigators faced an immediate challenge because an estimated 30 to 40 people had been in or around the parking lot when the gunfire erupted. Although detectives spoke with some individuals, police said many potential witnesses did not provide the conversations or information investigators needed to establish exactly what had happened. Authorities publicly appealed for those who had seen the shooting, recorded activity outside the bar, or knew who was responsible to come forward.
Kearney's death was recorded as the 16th homicide investigated in Des Moines during 2022. Police initially said the gunman remained at large, and no suspect was publicly identified in the reports issued immediately after the killing. Investigators did not announce a clear motive or disclose whether Kearney had been specifically targeted, nor did they provide a detailed account of any confrontation that may have preceded the shooting.
Available public reporting does not show that anyone has been arrested or charged with Kearney's killing. No subsequent trial or conviction connected to his death could be located, and the identity of the person who fired the fatal shot has not been publicly established. The case therefore remains defined by the crowded parking lot, the confusion encountered by first responders, and the unanswered questions surrounding a shooting witnessed by numerous people but never publicly resolved.
