Josiah Woods was 14 when he was fatally shot in Des Moines in the first hours of January 1, 2020. An eighth-grade student at McCombs Middle School, Josiah was described by his father, the Reverend Ron Woods, as a gifted, energetic kid who played the drums and loved his family; his father also said Josiah had been a troubled youth and was due to move to Dallas days later for a fresh start.

Shortly before 4:00 a.m., Josiah was on the enclosed front porch of a home on the 1400 block of 17th Street when someone opened fire. The shooting followed an altercation between two groups of young people at a downtown hotel; one group later arrived at the house in a car carrying five people, and one or more occupants fired several shots into the porch. Police said Josiah was not believed to have been the intended target.

Investigators initially reported frustration over a lack of cooperation from witnesses, and his father publicly urged people to speak with police and to avoid retaliation. Does anyone who was in that area that night or who knew Josiah have information that could help the investigation?