Man shot in leg in McDonald’s parking lot

19-year old Dennis Hawkins was shot in the leg early Saturday morning in the McDonald’s parking lot at 3002 Forest Ave. PHOTO BY AUSTIN CANNON

by Austin Cannon

A 19-year-old man was shot in the leg in the McDonald’s parking lot at 3002 Forest Ave. early Saturday morning.

A little after midnight, Dennis Hawkins Jr. and two friends were walking back to his car after they’d finished eating. According to Des Moines Police, Hawkins saw a group of  people arguing. He then heard gunshots and his leg began to hurt. He decided the injury wasn’t serious enough to warrant an ambulance, so his friends drove him to the hospital.

In his interview with DMPD, Hawkins said he did not think the bullet was meant for him. He did not know any of the people in the group he saw arguing.

Crime scene investigators also inspected a beige Nissan Maxima in the west side of the parking lot that was hit by gunfire.

The case is still under investigation.

Both DMPD and Drake Public Safety increased their patrols that evening. A Drake Public Safety patrol car was parked at the corner of Forest and 30th Street after the shooting.

A Bulldog Alert was sent out to students at 12:35 a.m., saying DMPD was responding to the situation and warning students to stay away from the area. DMPD finished their on-scene investigation at around 1:45 a.m.

Saturday’s incident marked the second Drake neighborhood shooting of the week. On Wednesday, a man was shot in the buttocks at the corner of University Ave. and 23rd Street.

If you have any information about either crime or see anything suspicious, call Drake Public Safety at (515) 271-2222.