Overview

• Immigration and Customs Enforcement says Superintendent Ian Roberts was taken into custody in a targeted operation after fleeing agents, who reported recovering a loaded handgun, a fixed-blade knife and $3,000 in cash.
• DHS says Roberts entered the U.S. on a student visa in 1999 and received a final order of removal in May 2024, with public records reflecting a prior weapons-related case and a 2022 plea.
• Des Moines Public Schools named Associate Superintendent Matt Smith interim superintendent and later said Roberts underwent a third‑party background check, completed I‑9 verification and disclosed a prior hunting‑related firearm incident.
• ICE says the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives will investigate how Roberts obtained the handgun, noting federal law bars firearm possession by people without lawful status.
• Custody information remained unsettled as ICE’s locator listed Roberts at Pottawattamie County Jail while a jail employee said he was not there, and listings changed during the day.