Michael Carter Jr., a 46-year-old Black man known as Bumper, was fatally shot at Union Labor Park in Des Moines on October 19, 2024, during the Biggz Big World hip-hop festival. The event, organized to raise mental health awareness, turned deadly around 7:22 p.m. when attendees heard gunfire. Witnesses saw Carter on the ground and bystanders and Polk County Sheriff’s deputies attempted life-saving measures, and a mobile crisis response team member also tried CPR. Carter was pronounced dead at the scene.

The Polk County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the death as a homicide. In the months after the shooting no arrests have been announced and no suspects have been publicly identified. Investigators have interviewed numerous festivalgoers but say some witnesses have been reluctant to come forward, and officials have appealed to the public for information that could lead to an arrest.

Carter was a father of five, including a three-month-old, and an entrepreneur who owned several businesses including a barbershop. He was also a musician who played drums and keyboards and was described as a man of deep faith with a confident, bold personality. His family continues to seek answers and closure.

If anyone attended the festival or has information about what happened that evening, can you share what you saw or heard to help investigators?