Authorities have released additional details of Thursday night’s shooting outside an Ames church. The Story County Sheriff’s Office and many surrounding law enforcement agencies responded to the shooting at approximately 6:52 p.m. An Ames Police Commander who was attending a meeting at the church heard the gunfire and responded to the parking lot at roughly the same time as the arriving deputies. Authorities say the shooting resulted from a domestic situation between the shooter and one of the two female victims. The women were located at the scene with apparent gunshot wounds and were identified as 22-year-old Eden Mariah Montang and 21-year-old Vivian Renee Flores, both students at Iowa State University. The shooter was identified as 33-year-old Johnathan Lee Whitlatch of Boone. Law enforcement says Whitlatch pointed a 9mm at Montang and fired several rounds, fatally injuring both women. At approximately 6:59 p.m., a deputy on the scene confirmed Whitlatch had an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. Lifesaving measures were attempted on all three individuals but were unsuccessful. Earlier this week, Whitlatch was charged by the Ames Police for third-degree harassment and impersonating a public official. Those charges were directly related to Montang. Thirteen law enforcement agencies responded to the shooting last night. The Iowa Department of Criminal Investigation is leading the investigation.
