BENTON COUNTY – A Northern Iowa man shot a woman multiple times then held off police before deleting himself in a standoff Friday morning.
On Friday, March 10, 2023, at approximately 7:30 AM, the Sumner police department was dispatched to 212 W 6 th Street, Sumner, for an unknown issue. Sumner Police Chief Dan Wegg arrived on scene and approached the front door of the residence. After a short period of time, he heard multiple gunshots coming from behind the residence. Wegg witnessed a female, later identified as 58-year-old Sharron Kuhlmann, approaching him from the side of the house with multiple gunshot wounds. The victim was able to be transported from the scene for treatment. The suspect, 65-year-old Bruce Kuhlmann of Sumner, was armed with a firearm and refused orders from Chief Wegg to put it down. Additional law enforcement agencies responded to the scene to assist and set up a perimeter around the residence. While law enforcement was present, Kuhlmann fired multiple shots in the air, and continued to refuse law enforcement’s requests for him to drop his weapon.
Law enforcement attempted to negotiate with Kuhlmann for over four hours. The Iowa State Patrol Area C Tactical Team utilized less than lethal tactics to attempt to get Kuhlmann to surrender peacefully, before making entry to the residence. Upon entering, Kuhlmann was located deceased with an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Bruce Kuhlmann was transported to the Iowa Office of the State Medical Examiner for an autopsy.
The victim was transported to Community Memorial Hospital and later transported by air to University of Iowa Hospitals, where she remains in stable condition.
There are no safety concerns to the public as it relates to this incident. The Sumner Frederiksberg School District did not hold classes, due to safety concerns.
The Sumner Police Department was assisted by the Bremer County Sheriff’s Office, Bremer County Dispatch, Iowa State Patrol, Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, Fayette County Sheriff’s Office, Chickasaw County Sheriff’s Office, Waverly Police, Tripoli Police, Fayette Police Department, Iowa Department of Transportation MVE, SEMS, Community Memorial Hospital, Gunderson Air, Sumner Fire, Tripoli EMS, Bremer County Emergency Management, Bremer County Medical Examiners Officer.
