Iowa ex-city manager opens fire at meeting, is killed with own gun

A former city manager who opened fire at a Jackson County supervisors meeting in eastern Iowa was killed with his own gun in a struggle that followed the first shot, officials said.

Francis “Gus” Glaser, 71, of Maquoketa, Iowa, had long been upset about the assessed value of his property, Sheriff Russ Kettmann told the Los Angeles Times. He was scheduled to speak about the tax issue at Tuesday’s supervisors meeting, held at the county courthouse, and the exchange became heated, Kettmann said.

The supervisors decided the discussion was not productive and allowed Assessor Deb Lane to leave, Kettmann said.

As Lane was exiting the room, Kettmann said, Glaser pulled a small-caliber handgun from his briefcase and shot in her direction.

County Supervisor Larry “Buck” Koos tackled Glaser, stopping him from following Lane into the hallway, Kettmann said. “Good thing he did, or it would have been a lot worse.”

Koos and Glaser hit the glass door and then the floor, the sheriff said. After a struggle, Koos ended up on top, and two other people helped him hold Glaser down. The gun was underneath them, Kettmann said.

“As they were holding him down, waiting for help there, the gun went off,” killing Glaser, Kettmann said, adding that it was unclear whether the shot was accidental.

Glaser did not have a permit to buy or carry a gun, he said.

Koos suffered a minor injury, according to a spokesman for Genesis Health System, which manages Jackson County Regional Health Center. Koos was treated and released from the center, the spokesman said in a statement. Koos’ injury was not a gunshot wound, the statement said.

Glaser’s body is being taken to the Des Moines area for an autopsy by the state medical examiner, Lyn Medinger of Jackson County Emergency Management told The Times.

The Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation is investigating the shooting.

Glaser served as city manager of Maquoketa from 1994 to 1997, a city spokeswoman told The Times.

Current City Manager Brian Wagner told The Times that he was called in after Glaser and the city “had a parting of the ways.”

“Some endings end well and some not so well, and as I was told, that one was not so good,” Wagner said. Glaser went on to become city manager of nearby Tipton for a few years, although he remained a Maquoketa resident, and then he retired, he said.

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