HORROR CRIME 

Chilling final words of crazed gunman who shot dead six members of same family in brutal rampage

A GUNMAN screamed chilling words about death and money moments before slaughtering six of his own relatives in a horrific rampage, neighbors have revealed.

The killer shot victims across multiple locations before turning the gun on himself as police closed in, investigators said.

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Ryan McFarland, 52, reportedly killed six relatives, including his wife, Lesa McFarland, and two of their childrenCredit: KWQC
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Police have said the violence was connected to a domestic disputeCredit: KWQC
The massacre unfolded Monday in Muscatine, Iowa, near the Illinois border.

Neighbor Melissa Weggen said she heard a man shouting on the street roughly 10 minutes before the killings.

Weggen immediately recognized the man as her neighbor, Ryan Willis McFarland.

“I heard him walk by my house, saying, ‘Don’t worry about money. Everything goes away when you die,’” she told QCTimes.

“It’s not unusual for people to be yelling on this street.”

McFarland, 52, killed six relatives, including his wife, Lesa McFarland, and two of their children, according to a local report.

Police have said the violence was connected to a domestic dispute.

Two of the victims were students, while two others worked for the Muscatine Community School District.

Authorities had not released the victims’ names as of Tuesday morning.

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Shooting occurred in two more locations in MuscatineCredit: Getty
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McFarland has previous criminal record including child endangerment resulting in deathCredit: KWQC
Weggen said she had thought of him as a “decent guy” before the bloodshed.

“They had yard sales, lots of yard sales, like every weekend,” Weggen told the outlet.

“They would walk their pugs past my house all the time. They were always holding hands and they’d have their youngest child with them.”

Weggen said police swarmed the block roughly 20 minutes after she heard McFarland yelling.

She recalled officers using loudspeakers and “telling someone inside to come out with their hands up.”

Weggen said she then heard what she believed was one gunshot.

Emergency personnel appeared to step back from the scene afterward, she told the outlet.

Her daughter, Sarah Ziegenhorn, 20, said she graduated high school with one of McFarland’s children.

She described his daughter as “really sweet.”

“Liked everyone, thought about everyone,” Ziegenhorn told the Muscatine Journal. “She just had a big heart.”

Another neighbor, Julia Butters, said her daughter warned her about the chaos outside.

“My daughter texted me and said she heard shots and said there were police officers everywhere,” Butters told the outlet.

Police were first called to the 200 block of Park Avenue shortly after 12:15pm following reports of gunfire.

Court records list 210 Park Avenue as an address where McFarland lived at one point, according to reports.

When officers arrived, they found four people suffering from gunshot wounds.

All four were pronounced dead at the scene.

As the investigation widened, detectives found two more victims at separate locations in Muscatine.

One man was discovered dead inside a home.

Another man was found dead inside a business on Grandview Avenue, officials said.

McFarland later died by suicide near the city’s riverfront trail as officers tried to speak with him.

“While talking to Ryan Willis McFarland, he took his own life,” Muscatine Police Chief Anthony Kies said.

Kies said the killings had devastated the community.

“Today I simply do not have the words,” the chief said. “This act of evil and what it has done to our community.”

The Muscatine Community School District said it had been shattered by the deaths.

“Our hearts are broken by this unimaginable loss,” the district said after revealing students and employees were among the victims.

Counselors and support services were made available Tuesday at Muscatine High School, Susan Clark Junior High, Madison Elementary, McKinley Elementary and Franklin Elementary.

“Our hearts are broken for the family members, friends, colleagues, classmates, and all those affected by this unimaginable loss,” Superintendent Clint Christopher said.

“We ask that you keep everyone impacted in your thoughts during this incredibly difficult time.”

He urged anyone who needed help to use the district’s support resources and check on each other.

State Senator Janice Weiner called the shootings “a tragedy of massive proportions.”

“My heart goes out to the entire Muscatine community – holding them in my thoughts and prayers,” she wrote.

Nick Salazar, a Muscatine native and longtime community advocate running for Iowa House District 96, said his “heart is heavy” after the killings.

“Right now, we come together as a community to support one another, check on our loved ones, and keep the victims and their families in our prayers,” he wrote.

Kies confirmed McFarland had a criminal record but did not share further details during the briefing.

Iowa court records show McFarland pleaded guilty to child endangerment resulting in death in 2012, NBC affiliate KWQC reported.

Details about the circumstances surrounding the child’s death are not available online because of the age of the case.

McFarland was also hit with several fraudulent business practice charges in 2016.

The original complaint accused him of lying about the mileage on a car he was selling by tampering with the odometer, according to court records.

The case later expanded to payouts to more than 10 people.

McFarland ultimately pleaded guilty to two felony fraudulent practice charges, which tagged him as a habitual offender.

He was ordered to pay more than $58,000 in restitution.

The Muscatine Police Department said the shooting investigation remains ongoing.

soure: https://www.the-sun.com/news/16442905/crazed-gunman-brutal-rampage-final-words/