AMES, Iowa — A man shot and killed two people and then killed himself Thursday night in a parking lot outside a church in Ames, police and church officials said.
The shooting happened just before 7 p.m. local time at Cornerstone Church, a megachurch about 30 miles north of Des Moines.
A church official described the victims as two female “young members” of the church. The ages of the victims were not immediately known, and the gunman has not been identified.
“We are grieving deeply,” said Mark Vance, with the Salt Company youth ministry at Cornerstone Church, in a statement. “Tonight, a tragic shooting occurred involving two young members of our Cornerstone Church community. It is believed that an adult male shot these two victims and then took his own life.”