UPDATE: IWU football players charged in connection with Mt. Pleasant shooting

Five Iowa Wesleyan University football players are among several people who are charged in connection with a large altercation that led to the shooting of a Mt. Pleasant High School student Tuesday night.

Decobi Davis, 19, was charged with reckless use of a firearm resulting in serious injury (a Class C felony) and participating in a riot.

Joseph McNeese, 19, and James Williams, 21, are both charged with participating in a riot, which is an aggravated misdemeanor.

Three others, De’kunta Mason Jr., 19, J’cauri Morris, 19, and Vernell Trent, 18, are each charged with the simple misdemeanor of disorderly conduct.

The minors are charged with simple misdemeanors of disorderly conduct.

Davis, McNeese, Williams, Mason, and Morris are all on the Iowa Wesleyan football team roster.

“The five students who were criminally charged related to this incident will be addressed through our university’s student code of conduct process,” a statement from Iowa Weslyean said.

According to Mt. Pleasant Police Chief Lyle Murray, a verbal altercation between Iowa Wesleyan football players and high school students turned into a large fight of 20 plus people.

According to circulating videos of the event, the crowd could be easily seen and heard from down the street.

People from the group can be seen suddenly running across the street only moments before gun shots can be heard and the video ends.

Both Murray and Mt. Pleasant school Superintendent John Henriksen confirmed that the shooting victim is a Mt. Pleasant high school student. The victim’s name has not been released.

“Something like this happening near campus is alarming and unusual,” the Iowa Wesleyan statement said. “While these acts of violence are common elsewhere, they do not happen here at Iowa Wesleyan or in Mount Pleasant.”

Mt. Pleasant Police, the Henry County Sheriff's Department, and the surrounding agencies responded.

Murray said that he was stuck on a bus at the time the report of shots fired came in, but his officers and mutual aid did a fantastic job arriving speedily.

“Everyone that came down did a great job moving quickly,” Murray said. “There were officers coming from basketball games and sports practices.”

Murray said that everything ran smoothly mostly in part to the number of officers that were able to respond and guessed the number to be between 35-40 people.

Parents who have not been able to reach Iowa Wesleyan with concerns have been able to reach out to the Mt. Pleasant Police Department for some information.

Murray praised his team multiple times for their ability to use their training knowledge in a terrible situation.

In response to the incident Mt. Pleasant Community School District did not hold classes Wednesday April 13 so that staff could prepare to best support their students.

Many videos of the incident were captured and Mt. Pleasant Police Department does ask that if anyone has additional information they contact the police department.

Mt. Pleasant Police Department says that there is no concern for public safety at this time.

Comments: AnnaMarie.Ward@southeastiowaunion.com