‘Just walked up and started shooting’: Iowa man shares his heartbreak after witnessing wife’s murder

STUART, Iowa —

An Iowa husband is grieving after witnessing his wife being fatally shot Tuesday afternoon near a gazebo at their apartment complex in Stuart.

“I had to explain to the kids that their mom is not coming home, and it’s not fair,” Victor Salazar said.

Salazar said the suspect, Austin Reed, who also lives in the complex, had been harassing them for months. Despite filing harassment charges, Salazar said no action was taken.

“And now she’s gone. He just took her, like he just walked up and started shooting at her yesterday,” he said. “We pressed harassment charges on this man against him. Something needs to happen. Justice, anything. She didn’t deserve this whatsoever.”

Neighbor Cheryl Rote, who witnessed the shooting from her apartment window, described Toni as being like family to her.

“She was like a daughter to me, she called me mama,” Rote said.

Rote said she feared for her own life during the incident.

“And he stopped right here and turned and looked at me standing there in the doorway and raised his rifle at me, and I slammed the door and went running for my bathroom. I was never so scared in my life as I was then,” she said.

Rote also shared that she had spoken with Toni just minutes before the shooting.

“She came over and gave me two hugs, and I’ll cherish those hugs forever. Those mean more to me than anything in the world, and I’m never going to get another one. I’m sorry,” Rote said.

Shortly after the shooting, Stuart police, county sheriff’s deputies, and the Iowa State Patrol arrived on the scene. Officials said Reed shot Trooper Chase Carruthers during the response.

Salazar reflected on his wife’s faith and her final moments.

“She’s with God. She was a God-fearing woman. She loved him with everything. She was running to him at the very end, running as fast as she could. And the last thing that man looked at my wife and said was, ‘Let’s see if your God’s with you now,'” Salazar said.

Carruthers was taken to a Des Moines area hospital and is in stable condition.

Reed was arrested for murder and attempted murder.

Make sure you can always see the latest news, weather, sports and more from KETV NewsWatch 7 on Google search.

NAVIGATE: Home | Weather | Local News | National | Sports | Newscasts on demand |