Police standoff near Iowa school ends in apparent suicide

SUMNER, Iowa (AP) — A lengthy police standoff near a high school in a small Iowa town ended when a man took his own life, police said.

Authorities in Sumner, Iowa, say Police Chief Dan Wegg was called to a home around 7:30 a.m. Friday and found 58-year-old Sharron Kuhlmann with several gunshot wounds.

The Bremer County Sheriff’s Department said the suspect, 65-year-old Bruce Kuhlmann, refused Wegg’s order to put down a gun as he retreated into the home.

Several other police agencies responded and surrounded the home. Classes at nearby Sumner-Fredericksburg High School were called off.

The sheriff’s department said Bruce Kuhlmann fired several shots into the air. Police negotiated with him for more than four hours before an Iowa State Patrol tactical team entered the home. Officers with the tactical team found Kuhlmann dead with an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Sharron Kuhlmann was hospitalized in stable condition.