Police Say Shots Fired at Cab Driver in Urbandale Overnight

A cab driver was robbed and shot at early Friday morning when he dropped passengers off at an Urbandale apartment complex, according to a news release from the .

Shortly after 12:30 a.m., Urbandale police were sent to the intersection of 86th Street and Meredith Drive on a reported shooting, said Public Information Officer Randy Peterson. The victim, a cab driver, told officers the shooting took place in the parking lot of a nearby apartment complex at 8700 Meredith Drive.

The driver said he picked up three men in Clive who robbed him at gunpoint when they arrived at the apartments. As the victim fled the vehicle, gunshots were fired. The victim was checked and released at the scene by Urbandale Fire Department medics, Peterson said, but he was not hit by any of the several shots fired.

At this time authorities are not releasing the victim’s name.

According to the Des Moines Register, taxi drivers in Des Moines were the victims of two similar attacks on Thursday. In both cases, the passengers were three men and handguns were pointed at drivers both times. In one of those cases, three shots were fired at the cabbie.

One of the Des Moines robberies occurred in the 900 block of 15th Street, and the other incident happened at Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway and Mondamin Avenue, the Register said.

Peterson said Urbandale authorities will be working with Des Moines police in their investigation.

The Urbandale Police Department is asking for the public’s help in identifying the three men who were in the cab at the time of the robbery. If you have information, call Polk County Crime Stoppers at (515) 223-1400 or Urbandale Police at (515) 331-6803. A reward up to $1,000 is being offered if your tip leads to an arrest.