A 52-year-old Iowa man massacred six members of his own family throughout Muscatine on Monday before committing suicide as police closed in.
The rampage began just after noon when police received a report of a shooting at a nearby home. When they arrived, they found four people inside dead from gunshot wounds. The suspected murderer, Ryan Willis McFarland, 52, had already fled the scene.
Officers tracked McFarland to the city’s pedestrian bridge along the Mississippi River.
“While talking to Ryan Willis McFarland, he took his own life,” Muscatine Police Chief Anthony Kies said Monday evening.
As the investigation continued, police found another adult male murdered by McFarland in his home. A sixth victim was discovered fatally shot inside a local business.
Seven people were dead in total in the gruesome massacre: six victims and the shooter.
“The preliminary investigation indicates the shootings stemmed from a domestic dispute,” the Muscatine Police Department said in a statement. McFarland had a prior criminal record but declined to share specifics and said the investigation remains active and ongoing. All six victims are McFarland’s family members.
The Muscatine Community School District confirmed Monday evening that two of the victims were district employees and two were current students.
“Today I simply do not have the words [for] this act of evil and what it has done to our community,” Kies said.
Muscatine is a riverfront city of approximately 23,000 residents situated on the Mississippi River about 50 miles southeast of Cedar Rapids.
At least 7 dead, including suspect, after shooting spree in Muscatine, Iowa, police say.
All victims are believed to be family members of suspected gunman Ryan Willis McFarland, who is deceased from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. pic.twitter.com/foSKolpwLi
— T_CAS videos (@tecas2000) June 2, 2026