Aaron Thomas McAtee, 48, was shot outside the Fareway Meat and Grocery store in Monticello, Iowa, on the morning of November 7, 2023. He was found with critical gunshot wounds near the store’s loading dock shortly before 7:30 a.m., airlifted to the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, and died later that day.

Investigators identified Nathan Allen Russell of East Dubuque, Illinois, as the suspected gunman and said there was no known connection between him and McAtee, calling the killing an apparent act of random violence. Russell fled but was located about ten miles away in Hopkinton, where Delaware County Deputy Matt Menard confronted him. Menard shot and wounded Russell during that encounter; Russell was hospitalized and taken into custody. The deputy was placed on administrative leave while the shooting was reviewed and was later found to have acted reasonably and lawfully.

Russell was charged with first-degree murder and related weapons offenses. Court filings and a later guilty plea acknowledged he had an AR-15-style rifle in his vehicle and that he shot McAtee. McAtee had worked for Fareway for many years and had returned to Monticello as the store’s meat manager; he was married and the father of three sons.