Three people were killed in a shooting at a state park in eastern Iowa Friday morning and the suspected gunman is also dead, police said.
Police responded to reports of the shooting at the Maquoketa Caves State Park Campground before 6:30 am, Mike Krapfl, special agent in charge of the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, said in a statement.
Krapfl said officers responding to reports of shooting found three people dead at the scene, but he did not specify how they died and has not released their identities.
He said officers searching the campground later found the body of a Nebraska man who had died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Authorities identified him as 23-year-old Anthony Orlando Sherwin.
3:00 pm Camp Shalom campers went ‘quick as little bunnies into the bus’ when counselors were alerted
Camp Shalom, a Christian camp for young people, is about a mile and a half from the park and campers frequently take trips to the caves throughout the week.
Fridays are pick-up days at 11 am, however, so all campers were on the camp property when law enforcement notified them of the shooting, Beth Sallak, the camp’s executive assistant, said.
“We heard that something’s going on at about 9:13 am, and then at 9:15 am, is when we told campers, ‘hey, we’re going to do pick up at Little Bear Park. We are going to all load up into buses and we’re going to do it quick as little bunnies into the bus.’ Staff was very efficient in making that happen, and we transported all the campers to Little Bear Park in Maquoketa,” Sallak said.
“We moved forward in a very calm, calculated way to keep campers happy, not stressed. And the staff, our camp counselors, are stellar,” she said.
Camp staff does ‘alert training for situations like this,’ she said.
“This is the world we live in now. ‘What would we do if this happened?’ And so that’s what they exercised today was the evacuation process,” she said.
2:45 pm Suspected shooter was ‘known to be armed’
After they learned that Anthony Sherwin was the only registered camper unaccounted after the shooting, they began their search for him.
“He was known to be armed. That of course heightened our awareness as well,” Mortvedt said.
Law enforcement used a plane to aid in their search for him.
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.
2:24 pm: The victims were ‘inside a tent’
Mitch Mortvedt, assistant director with the Iowa Department of Criminal Investigation, told the Des Moines Register that the early morning call to law enforcement was that there were three people dead ‘inside a tent’.
When police arrived they confirmed the deaths and began canvassing the area and asking people to leave.
“It became apparent that there was one individual missing from a camp site, not the same camp site but within the campground,” Mortvedt said. Law enforcement then began searching the park for that missing person.
At that point, law enforcement did not know why he was missing or whether he was a victim or a suspect.
“Ultimately, a body of a male was discovered, some distance from the camp site but yet in the state park, in the timber,” Mortvedt said. The person, whom officials later determined was Sherwin, had suffered an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Mortvedt said law enforcement will investigate what occurred, including whether there was any relationship between Sherwin and the other three people who were found dead. He said law enforcement did not have any reports of an earlier altercation at the park.
The park would remain closed at least through Friday and perhaps through the weekend as the investigation continues, he said.
2:15 p.m.: US Rep. Ashley Hinson tweets: ‘Horrifying and senseless’
US Rep. Ashley Hinson tweeted this statement following the shootings:
“This was a horrifying and senseless act of violence. As we wait to learn more, I join all Iowans in praying for those who lost their lives and our community. My team will continue to be in contact with local officials and I am grateful for our law enforcement officers who are working to keep us safe.”
2:02 p.m. US Sen. Joni Ernst: ‘I am heartbroken’
US Sen. Joni Ernst said: “I am heartbroken to hear of the tragedy in Maquoketa Caves State Park and am praying for the victims and their families. My staff and I are following the situation. Thankful for all of the responding law enforcement.”
1:10 p.m.: US Sen. Chuck Grassley tweets: ‘Killing innocent ppl is sickening’
US Sen. Chuck Grassley tweeted the following statement today in response to the shootings:
“I’m closely monitoring situation in Maquoketa Caves State Park. Praying for the lives lost & their loved ones Im grateful for Iowa law enforcement who responded +camp staff for ensuring safety of other campers Violence can’t be tolerated Killing innocent ppl is sickening “
12:45 p.m.: Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds releases statement
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds released the following statement today in response to the shootings:
“I’m horrified by the shooting this morning at Maquoketa Caves State Park and devastated by the loss of three innocent lives. As we grieve this unimaginable tragedy, Kevin and I pray for the victims’ family members and the law enforcement officers who responded to the scene. We ask Iowans to do the same.”
12:40 pm: Campground, Camp Shalom evacuated
The campground was evacuated in the wake of the shooting. A children’s summer camp on site called Camp Shalom said in a Facebook post that parents had been notified and that it had established a pick-up site for campers.
“There was an emergency situation this morning at the Maquoketa Caves. We evacuated camp as soon as we learned about it. All campers and staff are safe and accounted for in town at Little Bear Park, where we will do closing worship and pickup at the usual 11am time,” camp officials said on Facebook shortly after 10 am
More about Maquoketa Caves State Park
Maquoketa Caves State Park has long been considered one of Iowa’s gems for its accessibility and 13 caves that are of four types — solutional, mechanical, talus and rock shelters.
The caves in the park were used by Native Americans and became a popular picnicking spot for settlers and souvenir hunters; they stole the white stalactites.
The large, 1,100-foot Dancehall Cave is the longest wild cave open to the public in Iowa and easy to walk. The main passage has a lighting system but bring your own lights.
There is a 50-foot, arching Natural Bridge over the creek, and smaller rock tubes, like Bat Passage, and a 17-ton Balanced Rock that rests on a base a foot in diameter.
Where is Maquoketa Caves State Park located?
Maquoketa Caves State Park is located at 9688 Caves Road, about 10 miles northwest of Maquoketa in Jackson County.