On the evening of June 23, 2020, 31-year-old Paye Blawou, a Black man known to many as Jeff, was shot in Des Moines’ Prospect Park area. Emergency responders found him about 8:00 p.m.; he was transported to MercyOne Des Moines Medical Center and died later that evening. His death was recorded as the city’s 13th homicide of the year.

Detectives interviewed witnesses and processed evidence overnight; police arrested 20-year-old Lee Targblor the same day, initially charging him with attempted murder and then updating the charge after Blawou died. Targblor was booked into the Polk County Jail.

Blawou was born in Liberia on June 6, 1989, and grew up in Detroit and Des Moines. A Valley High School graduate who studied business and automobile mechanics, he worked as a self-employed mechanic and hoped to open his own shop. He left behind a fiancée, several children, and an extended family. If anyone has information about the shooting, please come forward.