A NINE-year-old boy is showing “courage” after being orphaned when his mother, father and six-year-old sister were all killed by a gunman in a “random attack” at a campsite, his uncle has revealed.
Tyler and Sarah Schmidt, both 42, along with their daughter Lula, were found dead in their tent at Maquoketa Caves State Park Campground in Iowa after being killed by Anthony Sherwin, police officers say.
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Her son Arlo survived the horrific attack.
Sherwin was found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound west of campgrounds in the state park.
“Arlo has been incredible and brave through all of this and the families cannot thank first responders enough for the care and attention given to this devastating tragedy,” Adam Morehouse, Sarah’s brother, told The Sun.
“He’s a very strong, healthy kid, which has been absolutely incredible, and he definitely has a stronger mind than the average nine-year-old in everything he does, but it’s important to know that he has so many years of healing ahead of him and that’s why it’s important to give him as much love and support as possible right now.
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Felicia Coe, 35, of Des Moines, told ABC News she saw Arlo standing near paramedics.
“He was in his pajamas.
“I remember clearly that he had a blue tennis shoe,” she said.
“He has this really cute, limp-curly, moppy, strawberry-blonde hair that’s really distinguishable,” Coe said.
“He was wearing these super cute little pajamas, like a cotton t-shirt and shorts that matched. … He just stood there.”
He didn’t cry. He wasn’t upset.”
“But he wasn’t comforted either. He just stood there alone.”
A GoFundMe for Arlo has raised around $165,000.
Sherwin has no connection to the family, Morehouse confirmed.
“Nobody in our families had ever met the person or the person’s families,” Morehouse said.
“As far as we know, there had been no interactions and it was just one person who decided that morning to pick a tent and go in and let this devastating tragedy happen that has affected several people and families across the Midwest and unfortunately this one too.” Tent belonged to my sister and her lovely family.”
Morehouse also said Sarah rarely had time off from her job at a local library as she developed programs.
She told Morehouse’s wife a few weeks ago that she could get a day off to go camping with the kids, so they headed to the site Thursday night.
“They were a very energetic, smart and fun family who loved the outdoors and went hiking as much as possible.”
“They started camping with the kids about a year ago to see if the kids would enjoy it and they absolutely loved it the first time and have stayed active ever since,” Morehouse said.
No one in the family received text messages from them or even spoke to them.
Sarah was the eldest of four children, siblings in the Dakotas, Texas and Michigan areas.
Sarah last asked her in a family text thread the day before her camping trip to comment on a picture posted by one of her sisters.
Morehouse said they are coming to Ceder Falls to support Arlo and make arrangements.
Tyler’s family is already in the area, a big reason the couple moved there, Morehouse said.
Morehouse said the memories he will cherish most are the times his own children got to play with their cousins, like when they vacationed together in Kansas City during the Christmas season.
“On one particular night it just happened to be blinding snow and ice and we were still going to the heated pool like families and jumping in the water,” he said.
“I’ll never forget Lula and the smile on Arlo’s face as we shot cannonballs into the hot water while it was snowing and covering us in ice/
“It was a memory I’ll probably never forget with all those four kids back then.
Joseph Sherwin, the father of shooting suspect Anthony Sherwin, who both lived in Nebraska, told the Des Moines Register that he and his son were camping at Maquoketa Caves State Park Friday.
He told the outlet he was woken up by someone’s gunshots and screams.
“I saw a little boy from the area running and calling for help.”
“I told him to keep running in my direction and I would help him.”
“I asked him what happened and he said a man in black shot his family,” the father said.
He told the outlet his son doesn’t wear black but they were traveling legally 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 record and lived with his parents.
“We refuse to believe the news.”
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The 9-year-old boy, whose family was “massacred in their tent by a random attacker at the campsite”, is brave, relatives reveal
