Authorities arrest man in killing of 2 Iowa police officers

DES MOINES, Iowa — An Iowa college says two Des Moines-area police officers who were ambushed and killed were both graduates of its criminal justice program.

Simpson College President Jay Simmons says the deaths of Des Moines Sgt. Anthony Beminio and Urbandale officer Justin Martin are tragic and the loss is “almost too much to bear.”

Police say a white man with a history of racial provocations and confrontations with police killed the two officers in separate incidents early Wednesday.

Beminio graduated from Simpson College in Indianola in 2001 and played football.

Martin graduated last year. Professor Fred Jones remembers him as a “kind, gentle, compassionate man” who went into police work because he wanted to serve the public. Martin had interned at the Urbandale Police Department during his senior year.

Simpson’s wrestling team will wear blue socks to honor the officers at its meet Thursday.

AG’S RESPONSE

Attorney General Loretta Lynch has strongly condemned the killings of two Des Moines area police officers.

Lynch says the shootings early Wednesday are the latest in a “series of senseless attacks” and that “violence has no place in the United States of America.”

She says violence is “especially intolerable” when it’s directed at law enforcement officers who risk their lives to protect the public.

The shootings follow the fatal ambushes this summer of officers in Dallas and Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Lynch says the Justice Department is determined to give officers the tools they need to do their jobs safely and effectively.

Scott Michael Greene is suspected in the fatal shootings of Urbandale officer Justin Martin and Des Moines Sgt. Anthony “Tony” Beminio. Greene surrendered late Wednesday morning to a state employee.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.