A NINE-year-old boy has been left orphaned after his mother, father and six-year-old sister were all killed by a gunman in a seemingly random attack on a campsite.
Tyler and Sarah Schmidt, both 42, were found dead in their tent with their daughter Lula after being shot by Anthony Sherwin, according to police.
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Sherwin was found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound just west of campgrounds at Maquoketa Caves State Park in Maquoketa, Iowa.
Bystanders have described seeing the murdered couple’s son, Arlo, in pajamas and standing alone after escaping the massacre without physical injury.
Felicia Coe, 35, of Des Moines, told: ABC news she saw Arlo standing next to paramedics.
“He was in his pajamas.”
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“I clearly remember he had one blue tennis shoe,” she said.
“He’s got really cute, limp curly, grumpy, strawberry-blonde hair that really stands out,” Coe said.
“He was in these super cute little pajamas, like a cotton t-shirt and shorts that match. … He just stood there.
“He wasn’t crying. He wasn’t distraught.”
“But he wasn’t comforted either. He just stood there.”
According to reports, he was unharmed and his family was found dead in their tent.
A GoFundMe for Tyler and Sarah’s surviving son, Arlo, has raised about $80,000.
The money will go towards helping Arlo now and his future education.
“Arlo is a strong boy, surrounded by family and friends who support him as best he can,” the page said.
“My cousin is strong and our focus in the coming days is on him,” Sarah’s sister Jana Morehouse wrote on Facebook.
“As we work incomprehensibly on choosing resting places for Sarah, Tyler and Lula, we also thank everyone who has helped us over the past 24 hours and kept us going.”
“Please don’t take time for granted.
“Go outside today. To breathe. Sara would have wanted that.”
Joseph Sherwin, the father of the shooting of suspect Anthony Sherwin, who both lived in Nebraska, told the… Des Moines Register that he and his son camped Friday at Maquoketa Caves State Park.
He told the outlet that he woke up to the sound of gunshots and someone screaming.
“I saw a young boy running from the neighborhood screaming for help.”
“I told him to keep running towards me and I would help him.”
“I asked him what had happened and he said a man in black shot his family,” the father said.
He told the outlet that his son wasn’t wearing black, but they were legally traveling with a gun, but it was in a secure container under the back seat.”
The younger Sherwin was found by police with a gunshot wound to the head.
He had no criminal history and lived with his parents.
“We refuse to believe the news.”
“We are deeply saddened because he had so much to live for and gave us no indication that anything was wrong.”
“We appreciate you respecting our privacy at this time,” said Joseph Sherwin.