Campers were evacuated after an Iowa state park campground was the scene of a triple homicide Friday morning.
Maquoketa Caves State Park reported Friday morning that a shooting had taken place on the park's property. The park, as well as nearby campgrounds, quickly issued evacuation notices and began issuing updates for visitors.
Authorities found the bodies of three victims, as well as the body of a suspect, at the scene of the crime.
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"At about 6:23 a.m. this morning, the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office and DCI were notified of a triple homicide at the Maquoketa Caves State Park campground. Officers located three deceased bodies," Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation said in a statement. "Officers later found that a camper was unaccounted for," the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation wrote in a press release.
Authorities found the body of Anthony Orlando Sherwin, 23, at the scene. Sherwin died of an apparently self-inflicted gunshot wound.
"Following a search of the area, officers found the deceased body of Anthony Orlando Sherwin, 23, west of the park. Sherwin appears to have suffered a self-inflicted gunshot wound, and there is no danger to the public," authorities said in the statement.
The park is an active crime scene and will be shut down until the authorities have finished
"There was an emergency situation this morning at the Maquoketa Caves," Camp Shalom, a nearby Christian camp and retreat center, wrote on Facebook. "We evacuated camp as soon as we learned about it. All campers and staff are safe and accounted for in town at Little Bear Park, where we will do closing worship and pickup at the usual 11am time."
Deadly shootings continue to make headlines as police departments struggle to contain and respond to shootings across the nation.
A Rochester, New York, police officer died just hours earlier after being shot by a suspect while on duty in the northeast part of the city. Police Chief Dave Smith identified the fallen officer as Anthony Mazurkiewicz, a 29-year-old veteran of the force and a husband and father.
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Officer Sino Seng, on the force for eight years, was shot in the lower body, Smith said Friday morning. Smith called the deadly shooting a "cowardly ambush," and said Mazurkiewicz and Seng "fell victim to the very violence in our community that we are trying to combat."
Mazurkiewicz was shot at least once in the upper body and passed away after being transported to a local hospital, Smith said. Seng was shot at least once in the lower body and has been released from the hospital to recover at home with his wife and children.
