A 9-year-old boy narrowly escaped death following he and his family were shot while camping in an Iowa state park, while his parents and six-year-old sister were killed.
According to the Associated Press, the Iowa Department of Public Safety has identified the victims as Father Tyler Schmidt, 42, mother Sarah Schmidt, 42, and 6-year-old Lola Schmidt, all from Cedar Falls, Iowa. Their bodies were found inside their tent on Friday morning. Authorities said the gunman, Anthony Sherwin, 23, was found dead on Friday in a wooded area of the park with a gunshot wound.
Mitch Mortvedt, assistant director of the Department of Public Safety’s investigations division, said the motive behind the attack was still unknown. He added, “You do not know what led to this, and what precipitated it,” adding that so far the investigation has not revealed any contact between the Schmidt family and the killer.
Cedar Falls Mayor Rob Green, who is also the family’s neighbor, posted on his Facebook account that little Arlo survived the attack and is safe. He did not say whether the boy was in the tent at the time of the attack or at the camping site when the shooting took place. The mayor said he did not know those details yet.
The killings led to the evacuation of the park, camping site, and children’s summer camp. After the evacuation, Sherwin was the only person missing.