Coach Ed Thomas Dies

Well known Iowa football coach Ed Thomas has died following a shooting at Aplington Parkersburg High School. According to reports, the head coach was shot several times at point blank range around 8:30 a.m. today.

A witness says someone shot Thomas in the high school’s weight room. Several students were in the weight room at the time of the shooting. No other injuries or deaths have been reported.

Butler County authorities took a suspect, who has not been identified, into custody. “It’s a young individual,” Sheriff Jason Johnson told the Waterloo Courier of the shooter.

Thomas, 58, was rushed to Covenant Medical Center and died shortly after arriving to the emergency room. A motive for the shooting has not been determined.

Thomas recently finished his 37th season of coaching high school football teams. He lead Aplington Parkersburg to 19 state playoffs. In 2003, he was named the NFL High School Coach of the Year.

Four of Thomas’ former players are currently playing in the NFL -- Brad Meester of Jacksonville; Jared DeVries; Casey Wiegmann of Denver; and Aaron Kampman of Green Bay.