BOONE, Iowa—Thursday night’s shooting in the parking lot of the Cornerstone Church in Ames involved a Boone resident, his ex-girlfriend and her friend. The Associated Press has reported that authorities say a man who fatally shot two women before killing himself in the parking lot of an Iowa church had been romantically involved with one of the women and faced a court hearing next week on a charge of harassing her. They say 33-year-old Johnathan Lee Whitlatch, of Boone, pulled up in a pickup truck to 22-year-old Eden Montang, 21-year-old Vivian Flores and another woman just before 7 p.m. Thursday outside Cornerstone Church on the outskirts of Ames and began shooting with a 9 mm handgun. Story County Sheriff Paul Fitzgerald says Montang and Flores were killed, and Whitlatch shot himself. The sheriff says the women were friends and students at Iowa State University who were walking together to the church for a weekly service.
Whitlatch had been taken into custody last Tuesday at the Boone County Jail on a warrants from Ames for Harassment in the Third Degree and Impersonating a Public Official. He was released after a court appearance where bond was set at $6,500. Another hearing had been set for next week.
Following the shooting, a search of Whitlatch’ residence in Boone was conducted early Friday morning, where authorities reported recovering an additional firearm.
The Story County Sheriff’s Office is continuing it’s investigation.
(contributed information Associated Press)
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