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Man fatally shoots 19-year-old in face outside bar: IA police

Police said Schultz unloaded the gun, placed it on the ground and waited for officers to arrive.

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A “misunderstanding” at an Iowa bar led to a 19-year-old man being fatally shot in the face, police said.

According to a probable cause affidavit, Taylor County sheriff’s deputies responded to a report of a shooting at Bootleggers Bar and Grill in Clearfield at 3:30 a.m. on July 4.

At the scene, officers found 19-year-old Colby Dean Nelson of Lenox, who was dead from a gunshot wound to the head, documents state.

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According to court documents, 37-year-old Alan Schultz of Bedford stood next to Nelson’s body and identified himself to officers as the shooter.

The documents show that witnesses at the scene also identified Schultz as the shooter to authorities.

Authorities say Schultz and Nelson had a “disagreement” earlier that evening at the bar, and a second argument occurred outside as Schultz was leaving.

The probable cause does not indicate what the argument was about.

McClatchy News reached out to Bootleggers Bar and Grill for comment on July 5 but did not immediately receive a response.

According to officers, Schultz drove home, grabbed a loaded gun and returned to the bar to confront Nelson.

Authorities said he “fired one shot, striking Nelson in the face,” then unloaded the weapon, placed it on the ground and waited for officers to arrive.

Schultz was arrested on suspicion of first-degree murder.

Attorney information for Schultz is unavailable.

Clearfield is located approximately 95 miles southwest of Des Moines.

Authorities said an investigation was ongoing.

Lauren Liebhaber is a national real-time journalist for McClatchy.