Police: 3 fatally shot at Iowa state park; gunman also dead

Family members found dead in tent

Three family members were shot to death while camping in a state park in eastern Iowa Friday’ police said suspected gunman died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Officers responded to reports of the shooting at the Maquoketa Caves State Park Campground before 6:30 a.m. Friday, the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation said in a statement. Officers found three people shot dead in a tent at the campground, division assistant director Mitch Mortvedt said.

The three victims were related, Mortvedt said. He did not provide their names or ages, explain how they were related or provide a motive for the killings.

Officials immediately evacuated the park, as well as a children’s summer camp on the grounds and the campground. Once the evacuation was complete, the only registered camper not accounted for was 23-year-old Anthony Sherwin, Mortvedt said.

“He was known to be armed. That, of course, heightened our awareness, as well,” Mortvedt said. Iowa allows people with permits to carry firearms virtually anywhere in the state. Officials did not say whether Sherwin had a permit.

Using a plane to help search the area, law enforcement later found Sherwin dead from a selfinflicted gunshot wound in a wooded area of the park. Sherwin came from Nebraska and investigators don’t believe he had any prior relationship with the victims, Mortvedt said.

Mortvedt said he could not say whether Sherwin had a criminal record. A search of online court records in Nebraska and Iowa did not produce any record of prior criminal behavior.

Autopsies on Sherwin and the victims were scheduled to be performed over the weekend, Mortvedt said, and more information would likely be released based on those findings.

The park, which remained closed Friday, is about 50 miles east of Cedar Rapids.