Seven people are dead in Muscatine, Iowa, after a series of shootings Monday that authorities said stemmed from a domestic dispute, making it the latest in a persistent wave of mass shootings across the United States this year.
The suspect, Ryan Willis McFarland, 52, of Muscatine, shot six people believed to be family members at three locations across the eastern Iowa city before dying from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, the Muscatine Police Department said.
“Today, I simply do not have the words [for] this act of evil and what it has done to our community,” Muscatine Police Chief Anthony Kies told reporters at a press briefing.
The investigation began at about 12:12 p.m. CDT when police received a report of a shooting at 210 Park Avenue. Officers arrived to find four people who had sustained gunshot wounds and were pronounced dead at the scene, Kies said.
McFarland was identified as a suspect and was then confronted by police on the Riverfront Trail near a pedestrian bridge. EMS personnel rendered aid after McFarland shot himself, but he was soon after pronounced dead at the scene, Kies said.
As the investigation progressed, investigators developed information indicating there may be additional victims. Two men were found dead from apparent gunshot wounds — one inside a residence at 1509 Mill Street and the other inside a business at 808 Grandview Avenue, according to the police department.
“Preliminary findings indicate that the shootings stemmed from a domestic-related dispute,” the Muscatine Police Department said in a release.
The identities of the victims were not made public, but Kies said they are all believed to be related to McFarland. Kies told reporters that the suspect had a criminal record but would not elaborate. The weapon used in the shooting was also not disclosed.
According to the Gun Violence Archive, the Muscatine incident was the second mass shooting involving four or more victims in the United States in the previous 24 hours. The organization’s statistics showed more than 163 mass shootings in the country so far in 2026.
The investigation is ongoing, authorities said.