An Iowa State Patrolman walks past a Maquoketa Caves State Park sign as police investigate a shooting that left several people dead, Friday, July 22, 2022, in Maquoketa, Iowa. The campground was evacuated in the wake of the shooting. (Nikos Frazier/Quad City Times via AP)
Associated Press
Emergency personnel block an entrance to the Maquoketa Caves State Park as police investigate a shooting that left several people dead, Friday, July 22, 2022, in Maquoketa. Iowa. (Nikos Frazier/Quad City Times via AP)
Associated Press
Emergency personnel block an entrance to the Maquoketa Caves State Park as police investigate a shooting, Friday, July 22, 2022, in Maquoketa, Iowa. Police responded to reports of the shooting at the the Maquoketa Caves State Park Campground before 6:30 a.m., Mike Krapfl, special agent in charge of the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, said in a statement. (Nikos Frazier/Quad City Times via AP)
Associated Press
In this photo provided by the Iowa Department of Public Safety, Anthony Orlando Sherwin is shown. Three people were killed in a shooting at the Maquoketa Caves State Park Campground in eastern Iowa Friday, July 2, 2022 and the suspected gunman is also dead, police said. Mike Krapfl, special agent in charge of the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, said officers searching the campground found the body of a Nebraska man who had died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Authorities identified him as 23-year-old Anthony Sherwin.(Iowa Department of Public Safety via AP)
Associated Press
Emergency personnel block an entrance to the Maquoketa Caves State Park as investigate a shooting that left several people dead, Friday, July 22, 2022, in Maquoketa, Iowa. The campground was evacuated in the wake of the shooting. (Nikos Frazier/Quad City Times via AP)
Associated Press
Emergency personnel block an entrance to the Maquoketa Caves State Park as police investigate a shooting that left several people dead, Friday, July 22, 2022, in Maquoketa, Iowa. Police responded to reports of the shooting at the the Maquoketa Caves State Park Campground before 6:30 a.m., Mike Krapfl, special agent in charge of the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, said in a statement. (Nikos Frazier/Quad City Times via AP)
Associated Press
The entrance to the Maquoketa Caves State Park is blocked as police investigate a shooting that left several people dead, Friday, July 22, 2022, in Maquoketa, Iowa. Police responded to reports of the shooting at the the Maquoketa Caves State Park Campground before 6:30 a.m., Mike Krapfl, special agent in charge of the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, said in a statement. (Nikos Frazier/Quad City Times via AP)
Associated Press
An entrance to the Maquoketa Caves State Park is blocked as police investigate a deadly shooting on Friday, July 22, 2022, in Maquoketa, Iowa. Police responded to reports of the shooting at the the Maquoketa Caves State Park Campground before 6:30 a.m., Mike Krapfl, special agent in charge of the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, said in a statement. (Nikos Frazier/Quad City Times via AP)
Associated Press
Emergency personnel block an entrance to the Maquoketa Caves State Park as police investigate a shooting, Friday, July 22, 2022, in Maquoketa, Iowa. Police responded to reports of the shooting at the park’s campground before 6:30 a.m., Mike Krapfl, special agent in charge of the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, said in a statement. ( (Dave Kettering/Telegraph Herald via AP)
Associated Press
Authorities enter a mobile command center at the entrance to Maquoketa Caves State Park, Friday, July 22, 2022, in Maquoketa, Iowa. Police responded to reports of the shooting at the park’s campground before 6:30 a.m., Mike Krapfl, special agent in charge of the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, said in a statement. (Dave Kettering/Telegraph Herald via AP)
Associated Press
A 6-year-old girl was among three Iowa family members fatally shot while camping in a state park, apparently killed by a man from Nebraska who later turned the gun on himself, police said.
The victims from Cedar Falls, Iowa – identified by the Iowa Department of Public Safety as Tyler Schmidt, 42; Sarah Schmidt, 42; and Lulu Schmidt, 6 – were found in their tent early Friday at the Maquoketa Caves State Park Campground, about 180 miles (290 kilometers) east of Des Moines.
Investigators provided no motive for the attack.
Division assistant director Mitch Mortvedt said the victims were related, but did not elaborate.
The discovery of the bodies sparked the evacuation of the park and campground, including a children’s summer camp. The only person who was not accounted for after the evacuation was 23-year-old Anthony Sherwin, Mortvedt said.
‘He was known to be armed. That of course heightened our awareness,’ Mortvedt said. Iowa allows people with permits to carry firearms virtually anywhere in the state. Officials did not say if Sherwin had a permit.
Sherwin’s body was later discovered in a wooded area of the park with a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Mortvedt said Sherwin had no prior connection to the people who were killed, but that he was believed to be the gunman.
The Des Moines Register reported that Sherwin came from La Vista, Nebraska. La Vista Police Chief Bob Lausten told the newspaper that Sherwin had lived in an apartment complex with his parents and that he had no history of criminal conduct.
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 state park was closed on Friday.
‘Our long standing tradition of enjoying Iowa’s natural wonders was shaken today, but the legacy for the millions of families that recreate at Iowa State Parks will continue,” said Iowa DNR Director Kayla Lyon.
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Foley reported from Iowa City, Iowa. Beck reported from Omaha, Nebraska.