Iowa Man Opens Fire on Interstate Saying He Had to Kill People
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Center 0%
Right 100%
0 left · 0 center · 2 right
What happened
On Monday afternoon, authorities received 911 calls reporting gunfire on northbound Interstate 35 in Warren County, Iowa, near mile marker 56. Andrew Darrick Tanaka, 27, of West Des Moines, was later arrested and charged with four counts of attempted murder. According to a criminal complaint and affidavit, Tanaka allegedly fired at a Subaru Outback, striking a woman in the left shoulder; fired at a BMW; then rear-ended a Nissan Altima and fired at its windshield. The wounded woman was hospitalized with injuries described as not life-threatening. Tanaka was taken into custody after his vehicle became disabled; the complaint states he told officers, “I had to kill people today.” The interstate was shut down for several hours. The Warren County Sheriff’s Office and Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation are investigating.
Sourcing check · Fully on the record · 3 articles
3 of 3 articles cite a named source for the story. It was on the record from the first report.
What these terms mean and how they're counted
- On the record · names a source 3 of 3
- On the record means the article cites a source by name for the story's main claim: a person, or an institution speaking officially, such as a company statement or a named agency's spokesperson. The opposite is an unnamed source. The count is how many of the counted articles cite at least one such source; the names are everyone named across them, each once however the articles spell it. Here: Iowa Department of Public Safety, Warren County District Court and KCCI
- Primary evidence · cites a document or data 2 of 3
- Primary evidence means the article cites a record you could check yourself: a court filing or ruling, a dataset or report, a recording or transcript, an official statement or press release, market data. A quote is not a document. The count is how many articles cite one. Here: criminal complaint and affidavit, police reports, court filing
- Credits another outlet 0 of 3
- The article says the story comes from another outlet's reporting (“first reported by Reuters”). Those articles relay the story; they are not independent confirmation. Here: Each article presents its own reporting.
- Unnamed sources 0 of 3
- The main claim is attributed to people who are not identified: “people familiar with the matter”, “officials said”. The count is how many articles do this.
- How it developed
- When the first report landed and whether it named anyone; when the first named source and the first document appeared. Here: First report Oct 7, 23:45 UTC by Fox News, naming its source. First document in the first report, from Fox News (criminal complaint and affidavit).
- Not counted 0
- Opinion, analysis and video pieces, and articles too short to assess. Every count above is out of the counted articles. An article republished under a new headline is one article.
This is about who is cited, not whether the story is true. Each source below says what it names. How we count
BLINDSPOT.
Only right-leaning outlets are covering this story
— the other side's media is silent.
Omitted — what each side leaves out
Unpacked
Left-leaning coverage has not reported this incident at all. Right-leaning coverage describes an Iowa driver firing on passing vehicles on Interstate 35, wounding a woman, then telling police he "had to kill people today." Fox News and the New York Post both recount the same chase-and-shoot sequence and his booking on attempted-murder counts. They add that her injuries did not appear life-threatening and that he was taken into custody without further incident. They do not report a motive, a prior record, or how he obtained the handgun. A reader of only left-leaning outlets would not know the shooting occurred.
One right-leaning write-up leaves out the final shots at a Nissan whose occupants had stopped to help, a beat Fox News includes and Breitbart skips.
What motive, if any, have police attached to the shootings besides the alleged quote?
Bottom line
The I-35 shootings and the alleged line "I had to kill people today" ran in Fox News and not in left-leaning coverage.
The receipts — 5 facts one side's coverage lacks
- After his arrest, Tanaka allegedly told law enforcement, "I had to kill people today."
- Tanaka faces four counts of attempted murder.
- The shootings forced authorities to shut down Interstate 35 for several hours.
- Authorities received multiple 911 calls reporting gunfire along northbound I-35 around 3:31 p.m.
- The woman driving the Subaru was struck in her left shoulder.
The Right View
Fox News, the New York Post, and Breitbart report the same core account drawn from Iowa Department of Public Safety statements and a Warren County criminal complaint. They identify Tanaka, the I-35 location and timing (about 3:31 p.m. Monday), the sequence of shots at three vehicles, the non-life-threatening shoulder wound, the four attempted-murder counts, and the alleged post-arrest remark that he “had to kill people today.” Coverage emphasizes the random targeting of strangers on a major interstate, the shutdown of I-35, and his surrender after police found him on the shoulder with a handgun. Fox and the Post add related road-rage video links; Breitbart cites local outlets (KCCI, 930 WFMD) for the same facts.
Our Take (balanced)
The story is substantive: it rests on named actors, a specific time and place, an official DPS release, and a filed criminal complaint and affidavit—not an anonymous tip or single-source claim. Established: a shooting on I-35, a wounded driver, an arrest, and four attempted-murder charges. Still alleged, pending court process: that Tanaka fired the shots in the sequence described and that he made the quoted statement. No left-leaning outlet has reported this. Watch next for the full complaint, charging documents, any plea or competency filings, and whether investigators publicly confirm motive, a weapon recovery, or additional victims.
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