In the early morning hours of the Fourth of July, 2024, a young White/Caucasian man's life was tragically cut short in the small town of Clearfield, Iowa. Nineteen-year-old Colby Nelson of Lenox, Iowa, was fatally shot outside of Bootleggers Bar and Grill. The incident unfolded around 3:19 a.m. when the Taylor County 911 Communication Center began receiving multiple calls reporting a shooting on Broadway Street.
When deputies arrived at the scene, they discovered Nelson deceased from a gunshot wound.
The events that led to the fatal confrontation began earlier in the evening with a disagreement inside the bar between Nelson and another patron, 37-year-old Alan Schultz of Bedford. The argument reportedly continued outside as Schultz was leaving. Instead of going home, Schultz drove to his residence, retrieved a loaded handgun, and then returned to the bar in a different vehicle. He confronted Nelson in the street and, after retrieving the handgun from his vehicle, fired a single shot, striking Nelson in the face.
Following the shooting, Schultz remained at the scene. When law enforcement arrived, he identified himself as the shooter and was taken into custody without incident. He was subsequently charged with Murder in the First Degree. Witnesses at the scene also identified Schultz as the individual who shot Nelson. An autopsy was scheduled to be performed by the Iowa Office of the State Medical Examiner.
In the months that followed, the legal process moved forward. In March of 2025, a jury in Taylor County found Alan Schultz guilty of first-degree murder in the death of Colby Nelson. The jury deliberated for a short period before returning with the guilty verdict, bringing a measure of closure to a case that had deeply affected the small Iowa community.
