Iowa City Police arrest man who shot himself in parking ramp, charging him with kidnapping wife and children

George Shillcock, Iowa City Press-Citizen
·2 min read
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University Heights Police and University of Iowa Police squad cars block traffic on East Burlington Street at 2:46 p.m. while law enforcement responded to a hostage situation in a parking ramp and bus depot on Court Street in Iowa City on Dec. 12, 2022.

Iowa City police arrested a man who shot himself in a downtown parking ramp and bus depot, accusing him of kidnapping his three children and putting them in danger of gunfire and holding his wife hostage at gun point.

Carldale D. Hunter, 33, from Indiana was in stable condition Tuesday after being released from the hospital. Police charged Hunter with felony and misdemeanor charges:

  • second-degree kidnapping

  • possession of a firearm by a felon

  • going armed with intent

  • domestic abuse while displaying a weapon

  • child endangerment

Iowa City police had responded to the bus depot at 170 East Court St. after receiving a report that Hunter allegedly kidnapped his wife and three kids from Cedar Rapids Sunday.

He planned to take them on a bus from Iowa City to Chicago, police said. His wife had managed to text someone about the kidnapping and said he had a gun — that person reported the incident, police said in their report.

When police arrived, Hunter pulled a gun from his pocket and grabbed his wife, using her as a shield and pressing the gun to the back of her head, police said in court documents. He threatened officers that he would shoot his wife if they did not back off, they said.

Hunter then fled the bus depot to the parking ramp above and police pursued him through several levels of the ramp before cornering him and attempting to negotiate with him, the arrest report said. The report said Hunter threatened his wife multiple times.

Hunter eventually released her and then shot himself with a .380 caliber pistol, according to the report. Police did not specify the details of Hunter 's injury.

During the kidnapping, Hunter's three children were present in the lobby of the Iowa City's Burlington Trailways Bus Station. One child was an infant and the other two were age 7 and 8.

The University of Iowa Department of Public Safety alerted students via a HawkAlert at 2:16 p.m. that there was a man with a gun and to avoid the area around the parking ramp. UI and Iowa City police closed off portions of East Burlington Street, South Dubuque Street and East Court Street around the parking lot, redirecting traffic until reopening the roadway around 2:50 p.m.

Police also ordered people in the nearby buildings, including Chase Bank, Unimpaired Dry Bar and the Voxman Music Building to stay indoors.

An ambulance left the scene at about 2:40 p.m. and both police departments' social media feeds gave an all clear report at about 2:50 p.m. He remained in custody at the Johnson County Jail Tuesday with bail set at $150,000.

George Shillcock is the Press-Citizen's local government and development reporter covering Iowa City and Johnson County. He can be reached at (515) 350-6307, GShillcock@press-citizen.com and on Twitter @ShillcockGeorge

This article originally appeared on Iowa City Press-Citizen: Iowa City Police arrest man who shot himself in downtown parking ramp