U.S. marshals capture 17-year-old suspected in mass shooting on Iowa City pedestrian mall

This image made from video provided by KCRG shows Iowa City police officers working the scene of a downtown shooting near the University of Iowa campus on Sunday, April 19, 2026. (KCRG via AP, File)

Federal authorities on Monday arrested a teenager in Georgia who is accused of opening fire last month near a popular University of Iowa nightlife district, injuring five people.

Iowa City officials announced in a news release that U.S. marshals captured Damarian M. Jones, 17, of Cedar Rapids, near Atlanta. He faces multiple charges, including five counts of attempted murder and five counts of assault. He was being held in the Clayton County Jail in Georgia pending a hearing on extradition to Iowa.

The release did not explain how the marshals tracked Jones down, exactly where he was arrested or whether he resisted them. It wasn’t immediately clear whether he has an attorney.

Johnson County Attorney Rachel Zimmerman Smith, who would prosecute the case if Jones is moved back to Iowa, said she didn’t have any details about the circumstances of the arrest and didn’t know if Jones had an attorney. Messages left at the U.S. Marshals Office in Des Moines and the Iowa City Police Department weren’t immediately returned.

Police have said Jones was part of a large fight that broke out along a pedestrian mall lined with shops, bars and restaurants near the Iowa campus just before 2 a.m. on April 19. During a break in the fighting, he allegedly fired six shots toward the crowd and then fled.

One person was shot in the head and another in the arm and chest. Two more people were hit in at least one leg and another person was struck in the stomach. The news release Monday said one victim remained hospitalized but did not specify which one or elaborate on that person’s condition.