FORT DODGE, IA — Police say a 20-year-old man faces multiple charges after a shooting outside a Fort Dodge bar left one person dead and others hurt early Saturday. Investigators identified the suspect as Jamarcus Gully, who is charged with first-degree murder, attempted murder of a peace officer, and two counts of attempted murder.
The gunfire erupted around 12:30 a.m. after what police described as an altercation outside 4th Street Depot, a bar and grill in the 300 block of South 4th Street. Officers say one responder arrived to find Gully actively firing a handgun while several people were already injured.
Officer arrives as rounds are still being fired
Court documents say the first officer on scene saw Gully firing and that Gully then shot at the officer. Investigators say the officer returned fire as Gully ran into the bar. The officer pursued him inside as the scene remained active and chaotic.
Police say Gully was later taken into custody on a nearby street by Webster County sheriff’s deputies. The arrest came after a sequence that included gunfire outside the business, a chase into the building, and a search in the area around South 4th Street.
The case remains under investigation, and officials have not released a full accounting of how many people were injured in the shooting. Police have also not said what led to the altercation that preceded the gunfire.
Neighbors say the gunfire sounded like fireworks at first
People living nearby said the shooting jolted them awake and sent them checking on their families. Emily Jensen, who lives in the area, said she and her husband heard what sounded like fireworks before realizing the noise was gunfire.
“We were woken up by 20 gunshots and that was incredibly discombobulating that early in the morning,” Jensen said. She said the couple quickly moved through the house to check on their four children and make sure everyone was safe.
Jensen said no one inside her home was injured. But she described the fear and stress of seeing the aftermath unfold outside, where victims’ families arrived and confronted the scene.
“We just ran around the house,” she said. “We were checking their rooms and just making sure that everybody was OK.”
Residents praise police response and raise long-running concerns
Jensen said the officers’ response was fast and effective, even as the night left neighbors rattled. She also said the business had been a concern in the neighborhood for years, adding that residents have raised complaints for about three years.
“The response time by our police officers was incredible,” Jensen said. “This current establishment has had some issues, and we have raised it as a neighborhood constantly for about the last three years.”
Police did not immediately provide updated information Monday, and the owner of 4th Street Depot declined an on-camera interview. KCCI said it did not hear from other nearby residents while knocking on doors in the neighborhood.
The shooting has renewed attention on the bar and the impact the violence had on people living nearby, even as investigators continue sorting out exactly what happened in the minutes before police arrived.
Iowa DCI takes over the officer-involved shooting review
The officer who fired at Gully was placed on critical incident leave under department protocol. Because the case involved an officer-involved shooting, the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation is handling the investigation into the officer’s use of force.
That review will run alongside the broader criminal case against Gully, who is accused of murder and attempted murder tied to the shooting outside the bar. Officials have not said when more details may be released.
For now, investigators say the central facts remain unchanged: an argument outside a South 4th Street bar escalated into gunfire, a patrol officer encountered an armed suspect, and a neighborhood woke up to a scene that left one person dead and others wounded.
A neighborhood waiting for answers after a deadly night
For residents nearby, the violence landed close to home in every sense. Jensen said she and her husband were shaken by the sound of the shots and by the sight of families gathering after the shooting.
She said the experience underscored the tension that can build around a business neighbors say they have watched closely for years. Even so, the public facts available so far remain limited, with investigators still working through witness accounts, officer actions, and the sequence of events at the bar.
The case now moves forward on two tracks: the criminal charges against Gully and the separate state review of the officer-involved shooting. Until investigators finish that work, many of the hardest questions about the overnight violence remain unanswered.
Local news that matters, from Dulaney Griffin.
