7 killed, including suspect, in shooting spree in Muscatine, Iowa

A man shot and killed six members of his family at multiple locations in Muscatine, Iowa, before killing himself as officers tried to speak with him, according to officials.

The shootings happened Monday in the city of Muscatine, along the Mississippi River in eastern Iowa. Police said the suspect was identified as 52-year-old Ryan Willis McFarland.

The first call came in at about 12:12 p.m. when MUSCOM, the county’s emergency communications center, received a report of a shooting at a home at 210 Park Avenue, according to Muscatine police. Officers and emergency medical personnel went inside and found four people with gunshot wounds.

All four victims were pronounced dead at the scene, according to the Muscatine Police Department.

The suspect had left the Park Avenue home before officers arrived, but police found him a short time later on the Riverfront Trail near a pedestrian bridge.

Muscatine Police Chief Anthony Kies said officers were speaking with him when McFarland shot himself. He was pronounced dead at the scene despite medical aid from officers and EMS personnel.

As detectives gathered more information, police said they learned there could be additional victims. Officers later found an adult man dead from an apparent gunshot wound inside a home at 1509 Mill Street.

A further search led officers to a business at 808 Grandview Avenue, where another adult man was found dead from an apparent gunshot wound.

Police said preliminary findings indicate the shootings stemmed from a domestic-related dispute. All six victims are believed to be family members of the suspect, but their names were not immediately released.

“Today I simply do not have the words,” Kies said at a briefing, describing the killings as “this act of evil and what it has done to our community.”

Kies said McFarland had a prior criminal record, but police did not immediately release details.

Detectives are still processing multiple crime scenes and conducting interviews. The investigation remains ongoing.