Man electrocuted while vandalizing power substation

2/8/2026 04:22 AM

Vandalism

NE 17th Ct, Des Moines, IA 50313

Emergency crews were sent to the MidAmerican substation on Southwest 16th Street and Martin Luther King Jr Parkway for a report of a man who entered the fenced area without clothes and was damaging property. Callers reported that he had come into contact with electrical equipment and was injured by electrocution. The power at the site was not fully shut off, and company employees were also present. Responders found the man trying to climb the barbed wire fence. They got him down from the fence and walked him to the emergency vehicle, while police remained on scene.