A gunman killed six members of his own family before taking his own life in a series of shootings on Monday in Muscatine, a riverside city in eastern Iowa located across the Mississippi River from Illinois, according to police.
Authorities said preliminary findings suggest the violence âstemmed from a domestic-related dispute,â though investigators have not yet determined what triggered the incident.
Police reported that four victims were discovered shot dead inside a home after officers responded to reports of gunfire shortly after midday local time.
The suspect had fled before law enforcement arrived but was later identified as 52-year-old Ryan Willis McFarland of Muscatine. Police said he was found on a riverfront trail near a pedestrian bridge. While officers were engaging with him, he died by suicide, according to the Muscatine Police Department.
Officials continue to investigate the circumstances surrounding the killings.
