The sole survivor of a mass killing in Iowa gave emotional remarks at a vigil on Tuesday night, as the community gathered to honour a mother and five siblings killed in a domestic violence incident the previous day.
Muscatine Police Chief Tony Kies identified the victims as Lisa McFarland, 51; Dakota Whitlow, 32; Austin Harris, 29; Ryle McFarland, 20; Mark McFarland, 16; and Ryan McFarland Jr., 13. The surviving son, Johnathan McFarland, told the crowd how he would miss his mother, sister and brothers, as well as his father, who police say committed the killings before taking his own life when confronted by officers.
“This might hurt some people for me to say,” he said. “No matter what is being told to me, I will always love and miss my dad.”
Whitlow's fiancee, Audrey Perdue, also spoke, describing him as a talented metal worker and noting that all the victims had talents and potential they were unable to fulfil. “My heart is broken as I grieve for the loss of my fiance and the life that we had planned together,” she said. “My heart breaks for everyone left behind to grieve these immeasurable losses.”
Police found four of the shooting victims at a Muscatine home. Officers later located the father on a trail, where he killed himself while police were talking to him. Two other men, believed to be relatives, were found fatally shot elsewhere in the city. Police confirmed the father had a criminal record but have not shared details.
The Iowa killings were the sixth family mass killing so far this year, according to James Alan Fox, a criminologist at Northeastern University who manages a database of mass killings maintained by The Associated Press and USA Today in partnership with Northeastern.
