Man agrees to plea deal in deadly Iowa nightclub shooting

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — A man has pleaded guilty to reduced charges in the fatal shooting of his ex-girlfriend and another man during a crowded birthday party at an Iowa nightclub where he was working security.

Timothy Rush agreed this week in a motion to a deal in which he pleaded guilty to two charges of involuntary manslaughter and seven other felony counts. Court documents show that a judge accepted the plea deal Thursday, KWWL-TV reports.

Three people were killed and nine others were wounded in the April 10 shooting at the Taboo Nightclub and Lounge in Cedar Rapids.

Rush, who claimed self defense, initially was charged with two counts of second degree murder in the deaths of two of the victims — 31-year-old Marvin Cox and 35-year-old Nicole Owens, who was the mother of his young daughter. Sentencing is set for May 22.

A second suspect, Dimione Walker, was sentenced last year to life in prison for killing the third victim, 25-year-old Michael Valentine.