In the early morning hours of October 22, 2022, what first looked like a car crash in the 1500 block of 11th Street in Des Moines was found to be a shooting. Responding officers discovered 22-year-old Dok Nyok Akol Dok, a Black male of South Sudanese descent, inside the vehicle with a gunshot wound. He was taken to a local hospital and later transferred to the University of Iowa Hospital in Iowa City, where he remained in critical condition before dying on October 26, 2022.

Investigators determined the shooting occurred during an attempted robbery tied to a drug transaction near the Grubb YMCA. Authorities arrested 18-year-old Christopher Wessels Jr. shortly after the shooting, and 21-year-old Capone Millian Blake was also implicated. Blake ultimately pleaded guilty to first-degree robbery and voluntary manslaughter; he was later sentenced and ordered to pay a civil penalty to Dok’s estate. Dok’s family described his plans to return to Sudan to open a small business and said his death has caused immense pain from Iowa to Africa.

If anyone knew Dok, his movements that night, or the area around the Grubb YMCA, please share information that could help complete the timeline.