2 Waterloo officers shot, suspect killed in Sunday shooting

WATERLOO — Two Waterloo officers were shot and the suspect is dead in a shooting Sunday morning.

Officers responded to a report of a man with a gun in the 200 block of Manson Street around 8:22 a.m. When they arrived in the area, the officers located Kelvin Lee Plain Jr., 35, riding a bicycle near Sullivan Park and matching the description, according to a Monday news release from the Iowa Department of Public Safety.

Officers caught up with the man in the area of East Fourth and Cottage streets. Plain fled from officers on the bike, then on foot through the park, the release states. Officers fired a Taser at Plain as he was running, knocking him to the ground.

Plain fired a handgun at the officers, striking one officer who was still inside his vehicle, and another was shot while he was on foot, the release states. Both officers returned fire, killing Plain.

The release reports that the incident was captured on a Waterloo Police Department vehicle dash camera.

Plain was declared dead on the scene. The two officers who were shot during the incident were sent to a hospital for treatment. The release stated that they are in stable condition. One was expected to be released Monday.

The Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation is investigating the incident, which is standard for officer-involved shootings.

Investigators closed off several blocks around the shooting scene, including a large part of Sullivan Park, as neighbors began to gather.

The deceased person’s mother also came to the scene.

“My son was shot and killed. … I just wanted to stay down here long enough until they picked my baby’s body off the ground, and I did that,” the mother said.

She said she still is trying to take in what happened.

“They said he was running through the park, and the police Tased him, and they say my son ended up shooting two of the police officers after he was down on the ground. But there’s a bicycle, and his shoes are still over there in the park,” she said.

The woman said she talked with police and Mayor Quentin Hart, who came to the scene.

This is the second officer-involved shooting in Waterloo this year.

In March, officers were sent to a report of a man with a gun who had threatened people and fired a shot at an automotive shop near his home. Police responded and saw John Piazza point a gun out of the window of his home. Piazza was shot and killed.