Brian Patrick Gabel, 44, a local business owner and father of three, was shot and killed at his place of business south of Shelby in the early hours of April 7, 2026. Investigators say the shooting was the opening act of a sequence that also involved an abduction and assault.

Police say 40-year-old Wesley Absher traveled to Gabel’s business, shot and killed Gabel, then forced his estranged wife into a vehicle and drove her to a rural location near County Road S and 129th Road. There the woman was assaulted and Absher sustained an apparently self-inflicted, life-threatening gunshot wound. The female victim escaped, drove to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office in Osceola and reported the attack; she was treated for non-life-threatening injuries.

Deputies secured two crime scenes: Gabel’s business and the farm property where the assault occurred. Absher had been arrested on February 8 on felony domestic-assault, terroristic-threats and firearm charges related to his wife, pleaded no contest to the assault and threats on April 1, and had recently been released on bond. Does anyone have information about Gabel, the business south of Shelby, or movements in the area around 1:30 a.m. on April 7?