BIRCHWOOD, Wis. (AP) - A deer hunter shot and killed five people and injured three others in northwestern Wisconsin following a dispute about a tree stand during the hunt's opening weekend, authorities said.
The 36-year-old alleged gunman, who lives in the Minneapolis area, was arrested Sunday afternoon, Sawyer County sheriff's officials said. Jake Hodgkinson, a deputy at the county jail, identified the suspect as Chai Vang but would give no additional details.
The incident began when two hunters were returning to their rural cabin on private land in Sawyer County when they saw the suspect in one of their hunting platforms in a tree, County Chief Deputy Tim Zeigle said. A confrontation and shooting followed.
It's not known who shot first, Zeigle said.
Both hunters were wounded and one of them radioed to the cabin a quarter mile away. Other hunters responded and were shot. About 20 shots were fired, but it's unclear who shot them, he said.
The dead included four males - including a teenage boy - and a woman, Zeigle said. A father and son were among them, he said. Some of the victims were shot more than once.
All five, from the Rice Lake area, were dead when officers arrived to the area in southwestern Sawyer County, he said. Authorities found two bodies near each other and the others were scattered over 100 yards.
``It's absolutely nuts. Why? Over sitting in a tree stand?'' asked Zeigle.
Zeigle said the suspect was ``chasing after them and killing them,'' with a SKS 7.62 caliber semiautomatic, a common hunting weapon. Wisconsin's statewide deer gun hunting season started Saturday and lasts for nine days.
Surely the "gunman" can be upgraded from "alleged" to something stronger, hmm? What a godawful scene it must have been. I hope the families of the victims can find a way to forgive me for making light of a truly tragic experience. I can't help it, baby, it's just the way I am.
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