An Iowa man told police he “had to kill people today” after allegedly shooting at strangers on a busy interstate during rush-hour traffic.
Andrew Darrick Tanaka, 27, of West Des Moines, was arrested Monday afternoon along Interstate 35 in Warren County, Iowa, where authorities say he opened fire on multiple vehicles and wounded a female driver. He faces four counts of attempted murder.
The violence unfolded around 3:31 p.m. Monday when 911 dispatchers began fielding multiple calls about gunfire along the northbound lanes. Tanaka was behind the wheel of a black Chevrolet Equinox, according to a criminal complaint and affidavit filed Tuesday in Warren County District Court.
The affidavit states that a woman driving a black BMW passed Tanaka’s Equinox on the highway. That BMW then passed a Subaru Outback. Investigators allege Tanaka accelerated after the Subaru and fired at least two rounds through the driver’s side window, striking the woman behind the wheel in her left shoulder.
He then allegedly caught up to the BMW and fired another round through its driver’s side window as well.
Tanaka continued northbound before rear-ending a gray Nissan Altima carrying two occupants, the affidavit states. When the Nissan’s driver and passenger stopped to check on him following the collision, Tanaka allegedly exited his vehicle with a handgun and fired at least one round into the car’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 area near mile marker 56 following the flood of emergency calls.
Officers located the wounded Subaru driver and several vehicles showing apparent bullet damage. The injured woman was transported to a hospital; authorities said her injuries did not appear to be life-threatening. No other injuries were reported among the other targeted motorists.
Police located Tanaka still along the interstate after his Equinox became disabled from the crash. He was standing on the highway shoulder holding a handgun when officers arrived, according to the affidavit. He was taken into custody without further incident.
After being taken into custody, Tanaka allegedly told law enforcement, “I had to kill people today,” according to the criminal complaint.
The shootings forced authorities to shut down I-35 for several hours Monday evening while crime scene investigators processed the stretch of highway. The closure snarled traffic through the rural county south of Des Moines during the busy late-afternoon period.
Tanaka was booked into the Warren County Jail on the attempted murder charges. The Warren County Sheriff’s Office and Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation are continuing to investigate the shootings and any potential motive behind the apparently random attacks.
Tanaka remained in custody as of Tuesday following the filing of the criminal complaint.