On Saturday, December 3, the Henry County Sheriff’s Office assisted the Mount Pleasant Police Department on a domestic disturbance call that led to an officer-involved shooting.
According to recently-released court documents, police responded to 710 North Main Street in Mount Pleasant after the victim, identified as Steven Lovell, reported an altercation with a female subject, identified as Samantha Shumaker. Lovell claims that during the course of this altercation, Shumaker held a gun to his head. The two had been living together at the residence.
After law enforcement arrived, Lovell was instructed by an officer to get out of the residence through a window. After Lovell had evacuated the residence, the officer noticed a hand reaching out of the same window, holding what appeared to be a gun. As a result, shots were fired, with one wounding Shumaker in the arm. She later received medical attention for the injury.
An arrest warrant for Shumaker was served on Tuesday, December 6. She was charged with domestic abuse/assault with display or use of a weapon-first offense, an aggravated misdemeanor, and false imprisonment, a serious misdemeanor.
On December 5, Shumaker filed a petition for relief from domestic abuse. She claims that the altercation began when Lovell took her cell phone and refused to give it back. Using a different phone, Shumaker claims she then attempted to contact her mother, at which point Lovell became violent. She asserts that the gun was for her protection.
The Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, which has been reviewing the officer-involved shooting, has not yet released their information.
KCII will have more information as it becomes official.