Father, Son Die in Northwest Iowa Farm Shooting
Authorities in northwest Iowa say a father and son are dead following incidents at a farm near Hornick on Sunday night.
A man identified as 72-year-old Todd Sulsberger called 911 Sunday about 7:30 p.m. reporting that his son was shooting at him. Woodbury County Sheriff Chad Sheehan said when deputies arrived at the farm they found the suspect, 44-year-old Walter Sulsberger, sitting in his pickup at his father’s farm.
“At 9:10 p.m., I made contact with the suspect via phone and he told me there would be no peaceful resolution and made threats toward law enforcement officers,” Sheehan said.
The Sheriff then requested assistance from the Sioux City Police Department, the Iowa State Patrol and the Tri-county CERT Team, all of which sent armored vehicles and tactical personnel to the scene. The Iowa State Patrol also provided air surveillance.
Sheriff Sheehan says a crisis negotiator was on the phone with Walter Sulsberger for hours. “At approximately 2:45 a.m. while the crisis negotiator was attempting to negotiate a peaceful surrender, the homicide suspect fired multiple shots at tactical teams who were attempting to move in to take the suspect into custody,” Sheehan says. “Being met with gunfire and in fear for their lives and with no other option, law enforcement personnel returned fire, striking the suspect.”
Sulsberger died at the scene. His father was found dead on the property a short time later. The sheriff has confirmed that just before Todd Sulsberger called 911 to say his son was shooting at him, dispatchers received a call that livestock were running loose and there was a fire on the property. “There were cattle out. How those cattle were made to be free, I don’t know. I’m sure the investigation will determine that,” Sheehan says. “There were fires set. I’m not aware of any that were set to buildings. There were fires that were set to hay bales…large bales that were set on fire.”
The Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation was contacted to investigate the officer-involved shooting and Todd Sulsberger’s homicide. Both remain under investigation and the Iowa DCI is expected to release more information at a later date.
Two of the armored vehicles on the scene were struck by gunfire, but no law enforcement or first responders were injured.
