WOODBURY COUNTY, Iowa [KCCI]— Officers acted with legal justification when they shot and killed a northwest Iowa man last October, according to a report from the Iowa attorney general’s office. Officers were called to a scene in Woodbury County on Oct. 29, 2023, after reports of a shooting. Responding law enforcement engaged in a standoff with a suspect that lasted over five hours, according to the attorney general’s report.

The suspect, Walter Sulsberger, 44, of Hornick, admitted during the standoff to fatally shooting his father in the head, the report says. Sulsberger allegedly set fires on the property and slaughtered cattle while positioning himself on a hill with an illegally modified semi-automatic weapon. Armored law enforcement vehicles approached Sulsberger shortly before 3 a.m. on Oct. 30, leading to “a heated gun battle,” the report says.

Sulsberger died from multiple gunshot wounds. The attorney general’s office determined the shooting was legally justified.