Skip to content

Crime & JusticeBreaking

Three injured in shooting at Des Moines post office; suspect in custody

By

Coverage spectrum

Covered by 10 outlets across the spectrum.

10 articles in total. The spectrum counts each outlet once and leaves opinion out. How we measure bias

Police officers and a uniformed officer outside the United States Post Office in Des Moines, Iowa.
Image via The New York TimesHow images are chosenReport this image

Police in Des Moines, Iowa, said a shooting at the main post office on Second Avenue on Thursday morning left three people injured and that a suspect was in custody. Sergeant Paul Parizek said officers responded within three minutes and the victims were being cared for at the hospital. Police said two people were shot, a third was hurt trying to escape, and none of the injuries were believed to be life-threatening. Shots were reported around 9:10 a.m. on the second floor. The suspect’s identity and motive had not been immediately released. Governor Kim Reynolds said she was in contact with the Department of Public Safety and that the investigation was ongoing.

Headline and summary written by Mantle’s AI from the coverage below, under published rules. Editors read every story. How this works

What happened

Key points

Each point shows who reports it, from Far Left to Far Right.

  1. Three people were injured in a shooting at the main post office in Des Moines, Iowa, on Thursday morning.

    Reported byFar Left1Left3Center1Far Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Far Left
    The Boston Globe
    Left
    CBS News, The New York Times, CNN
    Center
    Scripps News
    Far Right
    The Daily Wire

  2. A suspect was taken into custody, and police had not immediately released the suspect’s identity or motive.

    Reported byLeft3Far Right2See the outletsHide the outlets
    Left
    CBS News, The New York Times, CNN
    Far Right
    Fox News, The Daily Wire

  3. Shots were reported around 9:10 a.m. on the second floor of the building.

    Reported byLeft1Far Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Left
    CBS News
    Far Right
    The Daily Wire

  4. Police said none of the injuries were believed to be life-threatening.

    One outletCBS News· Left

  5. Sergeant Paul Parizek said officers responded within three minutes of the first reports.

    One outletCBS News· Left

How each side tells it

Compare views

All sides report three people injured at the Des Moines post office and a suspect in custody. Left and center headlines use plain wording built around the injury count, while right headlines more often use gunman, active shooter or shot.

  • the left

    4 outlets

    Headlines state the injury count and the suspect’s custody in plain wording, with no adjectives about the shooter or the attack.

    3 injured in shooting at Des Moines, Iowa, post office
    CBS NewsLeftAll left-leaning headlines

  • the center

    2 outlets

    The only center headline is Scripps’s version of an Associated Press report, stating the injury count and the Iowa location in plain wording.

    3 people have been injured in a shooting at an Iowa post office
    Scripps NewsCenterAll center headlines

  • the right

    4 outlets

    Headlines lean on terms such as gunman, active shooter and shot, with the Daily Mail using the most dramatic wording, while the Fox News and New York Post headlines stay close to the injury count.

    Three people shot after gunman opens fire at Iowa post office
    Daily MailRightAll right-leaning headlines

The words they chose

Language to notice

Words that carry a judgement beyond the facts. Tap a highlighted word anywhere on the page to see why.

Mantle found no loaded language in this coverage. Every headline and opening was checked against Mantle’s published word list, and Mantle’s AI read 8 of the 10 articles in context when it wrote the analysis. Straight reporting often has none.

See for yourself

Side by side

What each side leads with and what it leaves out. Open a side to read its headlines.

From the left

4 outlets

Leads with

  • injury count
  • suspect in custody
  • victims hospitalized

Leaves out

  • hospital lockdown reported by the New York Post

Reported by other sides, not found in this side’s coverage.

See the 4 headlines from the leftHide the headlines

From the center

2 outlets

Leads with

  • injury count
  • Iowa location
See the 2 headlines from the centerHide the headlines

From the right

4 outlets

Leads with

  • gunman or active shooter
  • people shot
  • hospital lockdown
See the 4 headlines from the rightHide the headlines
  • New York PostRight

    Multiple people injured in shooting at Des Moines post office

    Multiple people were injured in a shooting at a post office in Des Moines, Iowa Thursday morning, with police putting a nearby hospital on lockdown.

    Read at New York Post (opens in a new tab)
  • Daily MailRight

    Three people shot after gunman opens fire at Iowa post office

    Officers descended on the United States Postal Service building on Second Avenue in Des Moines, Iowa after an active shooter targeted the postal office.

    Read at Daily Mail (opens in a new tab)
  • Fox NewsFar Right

    Multiple people shot at United States Postal Service office in Des Moines, suspect detained

    Police in Des Moines, Iowa, said multiple people were injured and a suspect is in custody following a shooting Thursday at a United States Postal Service facility.

    Read at Fox News (opens in a new tab)
  • The Daily WireFar Right

    Gunman Opens Fire At Iowa Post Office

    Three people were injured in a shooting at an Iowa post office Thursday, and a suspect is in custody, according to authorities. Gunshots erupted at around 9:10 a.m. on the second floor of the United States Postal Service facility in Des Moines, according to local police. …

    Read at The Daily Wire (opens in a new tab)

The stories you read build My Mix, a private picture of which sides cover the stories you choose, kept on this device. What is My Mix?

The left is Far Left and Left together. The right is Right and Far Right together. Every outlet keeps its own five-point rating.

Who reported it when

How the coverage built up

  • Left

    5 hr 8 min later

    Its first report, Nov 5, 11:02 AM EST

  • Center

    5 hr 6 min later

    Its first report, Nov 5, 10:59 AM EST

  • Right

    First to report

    The Daily Wire, Nov 5, 5:54 AM EST

See the order the outlets reported inHide the order
  1. The Daily WireFar RightNov 5, 5:54 AM EST
  2. Fox NewsFar RightNov 5, 10:04 AM EST
  3. NewsNationCenterNov 5, 10:59 AM EST
  4. CNNLeftNov 5, 11:02 AM EST
  5. Daily MailRightNov 5, 11:15 AM EST
  6. New York PostRightNov 5, 11:16 AM EST
  7. Scripps NewsCenterNov 5, 11:18 AM EST
  8. The Boston GlobeFar LeftNov 5, 11:23 AM EST
  9. The New York TimesLeftNov 5, 11:36 AM EST
  10. CBS NewsLeftNov 5, 12:10 PM EST

Times are the ones the outlets published in their own feeds, in Eastern time. Opinion is left out.

Read next

Help someone else find the truth beneath the surface

Most people see one side of a story. Share this one, so they can see how every side is telling it and decide for themselves.

Email it
Embed

Show this story’s coverage card on your own site, blog or class page. It has the headline, who is covering it and a link back here, and it tracks nobody. See the card

Seen a mistake? Tell us what is wrong with this page