Police say man shoots two females, self outside Iowa church

AMES, Iowa (AP) — A man shot two females to death and then apparently killed himself Thursday night outside a church in Ames, authorities said.

The man killed the two females outside the Cornerstone Church, a megachurch on the outskirts of Ames, Story County Sheriff’s Office Capt. Nicholas Lennie told the Des Moines Register. Investigators didn’t know the ages of those killed, Lennie said.

The shooter appeared to have then shot himself but his death is still being investigated, Lennie said.

“Very hard to comprehend what he just witnessed of, of the actual shooting there,” Scott, Church Member said. “And tried to resuscitate the one girl that, um, from what he said, the gunman got out and, and, uh, he witnessed him get out of the car and, and shoot, uh, this is third hand just coming, but he was the eyewitness, I guess, and, and watched that, uh, happen and, and shoot another girl as she was walking away and then shot himself. And he’s uh, yeah, it’s, it’s just hard to comprehend.”

The church is near Interstate 35, about 30 miles (48.28 kilometers) north of Des Moines.

The sheriff’s office didn’t identify those killed or give details about what led to the shooting. A news conference is planned Friday morning.

The sheriff’s office told KCCI-TV that they received multiple calls at 6:51 p.m.