Police said the shootings grew from a domestic-related dispute and stretched across two homes and a business.
MUSCATINE, IA — Six people were shot to death Monday in Muscatine before the suspected gunman, a 52-year-old local man, died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound while police confronted him on a city trail, authorities said.
The killings left seven people dead in all and put several parts of the Mississippi River city under investigation. Muscatine Police Chief Anthony Kies said officers believe the victims were relatives of the suspect, identified as Ryan Willis McFarland of Muscatine. Police said the case began as a domestic-related dispute and spread to multiple crime scenes before officers found McFarland near the riverfront.
Officers were first called at about 12:12 p.m. Monday to a home on Park Avenue for a domestic dispute. When they arrived, they found four people inside the residence who had been shot and killed. As police worked that scene, investigators learned of other possible victims elsewhere in the city. Kies said officers later found one adult man dead at a home on Mill Street and another adult man dead inside a business on Grandview Avenue. “Today, I simply do not have the words,” Kies said at a briefing. “This act of evil and what it has done to our community.”
Police said McFarland left the area after the shootings. Officers later located him on the riverfront trail near the pedestrian bridge, a public area close to the Mississippi River. Kies said officers were talking with McFarland when he shot himself. Emergency medical workers tried life-saving care, but McFarland was pronounced dead at the scene. Authorities did not report that officers fired their weapons. Police also did not say Monday whether any firearm had been recovered, how many weapons may have been used or how long the shootings lasted from the first attack to the final confrontation.
The victims’ names had not been released as of Tuesday, pending family notification and further review by investigators. Police said all six were believed to be related to McFarland, but officials had not released their ages, hometowns or exact relationships to him. Kies said McFarland had a criminal record, but he did not give details during the briefing. The department said investigators were still processing scenes, collecting evidence and conducting interviews. The shootings occurred at two residences and one business, placing officers and crime scene teams across several Muscatine neighborhoods for much of the afternoon and evening.
Muscatine County Emergency Management asked people Monday to avoid the riverfront and the river end of Park Avenue because of the active investigation. Local crews saw police activity in the 300 block of Park Avenue in the afternoon. The city, about 50 miles southeast of Cedar Rapids, sits along the Mississippi River across from Illinois and has a population of about 23,000. The shootings marked a major public safety response for a community that had already seen another high-profile domestic-related fatal shooting at a Hy-Vee store in 2025, though authorities did not connect that earlier case to Monday’s killings.
The Muscatine Police Department is leading the investigation with help from the Muscatine Fire Department, the Muscatine County Sheriff’s Office, the Iowa State Patrol and the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation. Police said there was no ongoing public threat after McFarland died, but the inquiry remained active. Investigators were expected to continue reviewing evidence from the Park Avenue home, the Mill Street home, the Grandview Avenue business and the trail area where McFarland died. No charges were pending against McFarland because he is dead, and officials had not announced any other suspects.
Authorities described the case as a series of homicides tied to a domestic dispute, but they had not released a full motive by Tuesday. They also had not said whether anyone had sought police help before Monday’s call or whether officers had previous contact with McFarland or the victims. Kies spoke with visible strain as he addressed the deaths and the effect on residents. He said officers were focused on facts, notifications and the families left behind. The chief said the department would share more information when it could do so without harming the investigation.
The case stood Tuesday as one of Iowa’s deadliest shootings in recent years, with six victims and the suspected gunman dead. Police said the next step is completing scene work, interviews and formal identification of the victims before releasing more findings.
Author note: Last updated June 2, 2026.