Seven dead after man kills six relatives and himself in Iowa, police say

DES MOINES: A man shot dead six members of his family in the eastern Iowa city of Muscatine on Monday before taking his own life, according to police.

The Muscatine Police Department said an initial investigation suggested the killings were linked to a domestic dispute, though officials did not specify what led to the violence. The shootings unfolded in Muscatine, a riverfront city across the Mississippi River from Illinois.

Police officers responded to the first reports of gunfire shortly after noon local time and found four victims dead inside a home. Police Chief Anthony Kies said at a news briefing that the suspected shooter had already left before officers arrived, but was quickly identified as Ryan Willis McFarland, 52, of Muscatine.

According to Kies, officers located McFarland on the city’s riverfront trail near a pedestrian bridge. Police said he killed himself while officers were speaking with him.

Authorities later received information indicating there could be more victims. Officers then found two other men believed to have been shot by McFarland, one at a nearby residence and another at a business.

Kies said all of the dead were believed to be members of McFarland’s family. Their identities were not released publicly. An ABC television affiliate reported that at least two of the victims were children.

The police chief also told reporters that McFarland had a prior criminal record, but did not provide further details. Muscatine has a population of about 24,000 and is the county seat of Muscatine County, about 155 miles east of Iowa’s state capital, Des Moines.