On an ordinary Monday afternoon in Iowa, a stretch of Interstate 35 became the site of something ancient and terrible — a man with a gun and, by his own account, a conviction that he had to kill. Andrew Darrick Tanaka, 27, of West Des Moines, allegedly opened fire on multiple passing vehicles in Warren County, wounding one woman and leaving investigators without a clear motive beyond his own chilling words. The incident reminds us how suddenly the mundane fabric of daily life — a commute, a lane change, a moment on the highway — can be torn open by violence that carries no legible reason.
Iowa man charged with attempted murder after shooting spree on I-35, tells police 'I had to kill people'
One woman was struck by gunfire in her left shoulder with injuries not deemed life-threatening; multiple other occupants in targeted vehicles were endangered.
I had to kill people today
Mark
What strikes me most is that statement he made to police. "I had to kill people today." That's not a confession to a specific grievance—it sounds like something he felt compelled to do.
Mimi
Right. There's no explanation attached to it in the court documents. No "because they cut me off" or "because they looked at me wrong." Just that he felt he had to. That's what makes it unsettling.
Luke
But we should be careful here. We have what he allegedly said to police. We don't have his full statement, his explanation, or any psychiatric evaluation. The court documents record the claim, but they don't tell us what was actually going through his mind.
Mark
Fair point. So we know the facts of what happened—the shooting sequence, the vehicles, the woman's injury. But the why is still open.
Mimi
The sequence itself is almost methodical. He targets the Subaru, then the BMW, then rear-ends the Nissan and fires into it. It's not random. But whether that's calculated or whether it's the behavior of someone in crisis—that's what investigators are still trying to determine.
Luke
And the woman who was shot—her injuries weren't life-threatening, which is fortunate, but that doesn't mean they were minor. A shoulder wound from a handgun is serious. We should hold that weight.
Mark
The interstate closure for hours—that's a massive disruption. How many people were affected by that?
Mimi
The documents don't specify. But you're right that it's a secondary consequence. One shooting incident cascades into traffic chaos, economic impact, fear among drivers.
Luke
We also don't know if there were other vehicles involved that we're not hearing about, or if these three were the only targets. The documents say "at least" two rounds through one window, "another round" through another. The language suggests there may have been more shots than we can definitively count.
Mark
So the full scope of the violence might be larger than what's documented so far.
Mimi
Possibly. And Tanaka's motive—whether it was road rage, mental health crisis, or something else entirely—that's still being investigated. We have the actions and the statement, but not the explanation.
El Pulso
- A woman driving on I-35 was shot through her driver's side window without warning, struck in the shoulder by a man who then continued hunting other vehicles on the same highway.
- Tanaka rear-ended a Nissan Altima, then stepped out of his disabled SUV with a handgun and fired into its windshield while its passengers stood exposed on the shoulder.
- Multiple 911 calls flooded dispatchers simultaneously, drawing sheriff's deputies, city police, and state troopers to converge on a live and moving threat along the northbound lanes.
- Officers found Tanaka standing on the highway shoulder, gun still in hand, and took him into custody without a struggle — a quiet end to a violent rampage.
- His words to police — 'I had to kill people today' — offered no motive, no grievance, no target logic, leaving investigators and the public to sit with an explanation that explains nothing.
- Interstate 35 was shut down for hours as investigators worked the scene; Tanaka now sits in Warren County Jail on four counts of attempted murder while the question of why remains unanswered.
On an ordinary Monday afternoon in Iowa, a stretch of Interstate 35 became the site of something ancient and terrible — a man with a gun and, by his own account, a conviction that he had to kill. Andrew Darrick Tanaka, 27, of West Des Moines, allegedly opened fire on multiple passing vehicles in Warren County, wounding one woman and leaving investigators without a clear motive beyond his own chilling words. The incident reminds us how suddenly the mundane fabric of daily life — a commute, a lane change, a moment on the highway — can be torn open by violence that carries no legible reason.
On a Monday afternoon in October, Interstate 35 near Warren County, Iowa, turned without warning into a scene of targeted violence. Around 3:31 p.m., 911 dispatchers began receiving multiple calls reporting gunfire along the northbound lanes. When it was over, one woman had been shot, at least three vehicles had been struck by bullets, and Andrew Darrick Tanaka, 27, of West Des Moines, was in handcuffs facing four counts of attempted murder.
According to court documents, Tanaka accelerated to pursue a Subaru Outback and fired at least two rounds through its driver's side window, striking the woman at the wheel in her left shoulder. He then chased a black BMW and fired through its driver's side window as well. Further north, he rear-ended a gray Nissan Altima — and when its two occupants stepped out to check the damage, Tanaka exited his vehicle with a handgun and fired into the Nissan's windshield.
Deputies, city officers, and Iowa State Patrol troopers converged near mile marker 56. They found the wounded woman, bullet-marked vehicles, and Tanaka himself standing on the highway shoulder, gun in hand. He surrendered without resistance.
What he said afterward became the most haunting element of the case. According to the criminal complaint, Tanaka told law enforcement: 'I had to kill people today.' No motive followed. No explanation. Just a statement of intent delivered as though it were fact.
Authorities closed I-35 for several hours while investigators processed the scene. The Warren County Sheriff's Office and the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation took over the case. Tanaka remains in custody, and the question of what drove him onto that highway with a gun — whether rage, crisis, or something else entirely — has not yet been answered.
On a Monday afternoon in October, traffic on Interstate 35 near Warren County, Iowa, became a shooting gallery. Around 3:31 p.m., dispatchers fielded multiple 911 calls reporting gunfire along the northbound lanes. By the time it ended, one woman had been shot, at least three vehicles bore bullet holes, and a man named Andrew Darrick Tanaka, 27, of West Des Moines, would be facing four counts of attempted murder.
According to court documents, the sequence began when a black BMW passed Tanaka's black Chevrolet Equinox on the interstate. The BMW then passed a Subaru Outback ahead of it. Tanaka accelerated to catch the Subaru and fired at least two rounds through the driver's side window. The shots struck the woman behind the wheel in her left shoulder. She would later be hospitalized, though authorities determined her injuries were not life-threatening.
Tanaka then pursued the BMW and fired another round through its driver's side window. He continued north on the interstate before rear-ending a gray Nissan Altima carrying two occupants. When the Nissan's passengers got out to assess the collision, Tanaka exited his own vehicle with a handgun and fired at least one round into the Nissan's windshield.
Deputies from the Warren County Sheriff's Office, officers from the West Des Moines Police Department, and Iowa State Patrol troopers converged on the scene near mile marker 56 after reports of the gunfire. They found the wounded woman and multiple vehicles marked by bullet strikes. Tanaka's Equinox had become disabled after the rear-end collision. Officers located him standing on the shoulder of the highway, handgun in hand. He was taken into custody without resistance.
What Tanaka told police after his arrest would become part of the criminal complaint filed in Warren County District Court. According to the affidavit, he said to law enforcement: "I had to kill people today." The statement offered no explanation for the violence, no context for the targeting, no motive that investigators have yet made public. It was simply a statement of what he believed he had done, or what he believed he needed to do.
The shooting prompted authorities to close Interstate 35 for several hours while investigators processed the scene and collected evidence from the vehicles and the roadway. The Warren County Sheriff's Office and the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation took over the investigation. Tanaka was booked into the Warren County Jail on the four attempted murder charges. As of the filing of court documents, he remained in custody. What prompted the violence, whether it was purely road rage or something deeper, remains under investigation.
Citas Notables
I had to kill people today— Andrew Darrick Tanaka, allegedly told to police after arrest according to court documents
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