At least seven people, including the suspected shooter, are dead Monday following a series of shootings in an Iowa city that authorities said stemmed from a domestic dispute.
The suspect was identified as Ryan Willis McFarland, 52, of Muscatine, located along the eastern Iowa border with Illinois.
Authorities said he shot six people, all believed to be family members, before dying from a self-inflicted gunshot wound that was fired after being confronted by police on the Riverfront Trail near a pedestrian bridge.
“Today, I simply do not have the words [for] this act of evil and what it has done to our community,” Muscatine Police Chief Anthony Kies told reporters at a press briefing.
The identities of the victims were not made public, but Kies said they are all believed to be related to McFarland.
The investigation began at about 12:12 p.m. CDT when police received a report of a shooting at 210 Park Avenue. Officers arrived to find four people who had sustained gunshot wounds and were pronounced dead at the scene.
McFarland was identified as a suspect and was then confronted. EMS personnel rendered aid after McFarland shot himself, but he was soon after pronounced dead at the scene, Kies said.
As the investigation progressed, investigators developed information indicating there may be additional victims, leading to the discovery of two men dead from apparent gunshots — one inside a 1509 Mill Street residence and the other inside a 808 Grandview Avenue business.
“Preliminary findings indicate that the shootings stemmed from a domestic-related dispute,” Muscatine Police Department said in a release.
Kies told reporters that the suspect had a criminal record, but would not elaborate. The weapon used in the shooting was also not mentioned.
The investigation is ongoing, authorities said.
According to The Gun Violence Archive, the Muscatine incident is the second mass shooting involving four or more victims in the United States in the last 24 hours. There have also been more than 163 mass shootings in the country so far this year, the organization’s statistics show.
