Another fatal incident of shooting in America has shocked the nation, which is already suffering from the alarming increase in mass shootings in recent weeks. In the latest incident, a jilted lover, identified as Jonathan Lee Whitlatch, killed his ex and her friend in a parking lot outside an Iowa church before killing himself. His victims have been identified as 22-year-old Eden Mariah Montang and her friend, 21-year-old Vivian Renee Flores. A third woman reportedly escaped unharmed.
What really happened?
According to Sheriff Paul Fitzgerald, Jonathan Lee Whitlatch attacked and killed his victims in the parking lot outside Cornerstone Church of Armes, near Des Moines before turning the gun on himself.
Capt. Nicholas Lennie of the Sheriff’s office said, “This is a very tragic event for our community but I think also nationwide as we experience violent incidents nationwide, and it only seems to increase.”
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When authorities searched his house immediately after the shooting, they found ammo for the 9MM pistol that had been purchased just an hour prior to the shooting, as well as an AR-15 unrelated to the attack from Whitlatch’s house.
Who is Jonathan Lee Whitlatch?
33-year-old Iowa shooter has had a criminal history and was arrested just days before he killed his victims outside a church. He was arrested on 31 May in Iowa’s Boone County for impersonating a public official and third-degree harassment of Eden Mariah Montang after she ended their relationship.
According to the Daily Mail website, Montag was granted a retraining order against Whitlatch, who was scheduled to appear in court 10 June. Whitlatch was also awaiting trial in another case of sexual abuse involving another woman. According to local media reports, he allegedly twice put his hand down a woman’s pants and attempted to penetrate her at a nightclub in Cedar Falls in October last year.
The said incident was caught on a CCTV camera. Whitlatch said he had no recollection of the incident since he was under the influence of alcohol. The hearing in the matter was scheduled to start this month.
Who is Eden Mariah Montang?
Montang and her friend Flores both went to Iowa State University and were attending a bible study at Cornerstone Church in Ames. There were about 80 students taking part in the bible study programme in the church.
Her social media posts indicate that she was in an abusive relationship with her killer.
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She wrote last week on Instagram, “1 in 3 women and 1 in 4 men will be in an abusive relationship: whether that’s boundary manipulation, physical violence, or verbally/emotionally malicious. A lot of people think: “That would never happen to me…” “I live in a small town…” “I’m smart enough to recognize the signs!” But it’s not about who YOU are – how smart you are, or how confident you are – it’s about who THEY are – the way they make manipulation look like they have your best interest at heart, the way they’re in fact sincere when they are sorry but don’t end up changing their behavior, their abusive upbringing that perpetuates pain. Hurt people – hurt people. And your role is not to be their healing, redeeming savior…. teacher/therapist/or parent!”
Her father Terry Montang, who was earlier pictured with Whitlatch, spoke at his daughter’s memorial and paid rich tribute to her.