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

3 family unit members were shot to death while camping in a land park in eastern Iowa on Friday, and the suspected gunman died of a cocky-inflicted gunshot wound, police said. Officers responded to reports of the shooting at the Maquoketa Caves State Park campground before half dozen:30 a.m. Fri, the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation said in a statement.

Officers found 3 people fatally shot in a tent at the campground, division assistant director Mitch Mortvedt said.

The 3 victims were related, Mortvedt said. He did non explicate how they were related or provide a motive for the killings.

Later Fri nighttime, the Iowa Department of Public Rubber identified the victims as Tyler Schmidt, 42; Sarah Schmidt, 42; and Lulu Schmidt, half dozen. The section said they all lived in Cedar Falls, which is nearly two hours northwest of the state park.

An Iowa state patrolman walks past a Maquoketa Caves State Park sign as police investigate a deadly shooting July 22, 2022, in Maquoketa, Iowa. Nikos Frazier/Quad City Times via AP

Officials immediately evacuated everyone from the park, a children's summer military camp on the grounds and the campground. Once the evacuation was consummate, the only registered camper not accounted for was 23-yr-old Anthony Sherwin, Mortvedt said.

"He was known to be armed. That of form heightened our sensation every bit well," Mortvedt said. Iowa allows people with permits to carry firearms near anywhere in the state. Officials did not say if the suspected gunman had a permit.

Using a aeroplane to assist search the area, law enforcement afterwards institute Sherwin dead from a cocky-inflicted gunshot wound in a wooded area of the park. He came from Nebraska, and investigators don't believe he had any prior relationship with the victims, Mortvedt said.

Mortvedt said he could non say whether the suspected gunman had a criminal record. A search of online courtroom records in Nebraska and Iowa did non produce whatever record of prior criminal behavior.

Autopsies on the suspected gunman and the victims were scheduled to be performed over the weekend, Mortvedt said, and more data would probable be released based on those findings.

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