Albion Family Recovering From Horror Of Break-In

An Albion family is still recovering after an armed stranger broke into their home and took over the basement for hours before taking his own life. For Natasha Iverson, the night started like any other. She had just gotten home from work at her family-owned dog kennel just down the road from her Albion home Wednesday night. She was home with her two-year-old son and 16-year-old daughter. Everything was normal until just after six p.m. that night, when she received a frantic phone call from her fiancé, Chad Gallagher, warning her of a possible active shooter in their neighborhood. That active shooter was 38-year-old Alexander Grunke. Earlier that day, authorities in Dubuque County discovered his ex-girlfriend, 32-year-old Tana Poppe dead in her home. They soon named Grunke as a person of interest in her death. Meanwhile, Grunke had made his way to the town of Dunn with Poppe’s 13-year-old daughter and their five-month-old son. Grunke and the 13-year-old dropped the infant off at another home and lead Dane County Sheriff’s deputies on a car chase that ended yards away from Iverson and Gallagher’s home. She was able to get her 16-year-old daughter upstairs with her toddler moments before Grunke broke into their home, coming face-to-face with Iverson. Grunke fired one shot at Iverson who turned and ran upstairs. For 30 harrowing minutes, Iverson and her children waited to be rescued from their own home while Grunke barricaded himself in the basement and fired off shots at random intervals. Eventually, Dane County Sheriff’s deputies were able to get the family out safely through a second story window. For more than seven more hours, Grunke remained barricaded in the basement. When deputies finally entered the home, they found him dead of apparent suicide. The 13 year old girl ran off into the woods and died of unknown causes. Now, Iverson and her family are left to pick up the pieces. Iverson and Gallagher have set up a Go Fund Me for their recovery expenses. It has already raised almost $10,000.