A rural gathering west of Goldfield, Iowa, ended in a fatal firearms accident on the evening of Friday, November 28, 2025. At about 8:19 p.m. Humboldt County dispatchers received a 911 call for a shooting at a home on 210th Street. Deputies from Humboldt and Wright counties, Eagle Grove police and local ambulance crews responded.

Responding officers found 26-year-old George Filmalter in the dining room, where he had been socializing with others. Investigators say he was handling a handgun he believed to be unloaded when it discharged, striking him. He died of his injuries despite emergency treatment. Detectives and the Humboldt County Medical Examiner interviewed witnesses and examined the scene and found no evidence of foul play or any indication Filmalter intended to harm himself; the death was ruled an accident.

The Sheriff’s Office later emphasized treating all firearms as if they are loaded. If anyone at the gathering or nearby that evening has relevant information, please share it with the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office.