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Posted by: Inspector

CRANDON, Wis. (AP) - At least five people were killed early Sunday morning in a shooting rampage in northern Wisconsin, a county supervisor said.
``It's a pretty tragic situation here,'' said Forest County Supervisor Tom Vollmar, who lives just outside Crandon, where the shootings occured. ``There are five or six people dead.''
Other details were not immediately available. Messages seeking comment were left with the sheriff's office.
The neighborhood where the shooting occurred has been blocked off, Vollmar said.
The northeast Wisconsin city of about 2,000 people is about 225 miles north of Milwaukee. The area is known for logging, and fishing, hunting and snowmobiling.

CRANDON, Wis. -- A manhunt is currently under way for a law enforcement officer accused of opening fire at a house party.The wife of Crandon, Wis., Mayor Gary Bradley confirmed Sunday afternoon that several people are dead and several more are injured. The Associated Press puts the number of fatalities at five. One young man was treated and released from St. Mary's Hospital in nearby Rhinelander, a hospital representative said. A second young man is being treated at St. Joseph's Hospital in Marshfield. His condition is currently unknown.The victims are young adults, and Bradley said that several parents still have not been notified. Crandon High School celebrated Homecoming last Friday. The law enforcement officer being sought for the shooting is reportedly a deputy sheriff

There are reports that the suspect has been shot and killed in the Town of Argonne. That word came this afternoon from county supervisor Ray Statezny Jr.

There has been no confirmation of the suspect's death from the sheriff's department. But WJFW in Rhinelander says it has confirmed that he is dead on county Highway N.

According to the Town of Argonne Chairman, the suspect is Forest County Deputy Tyler Peterson.

At Least 5 Dead in Crandon

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Posted by: kwflatbed

Crandon Shooting

The Oconto County Sheriff's Department has confirmed just minutes ago the shooter, Sheriff's Deputy Tyler Peterson was shot and killed.

Crandon - Our reporter Chad Silber is out on the scene near County Highway N and the entire Highway is blocked off.

Just a few minutes ago he heard gunshots ring out.


He says 100 cars from at least 6 different counties including what looks to be the FBI are on scene.

The Forest County Sheriff's Department has confirmed 7 people, including the shooter, Tyler Peterson have been killed.

According to witnesses, Peterson went on a shooting rampage at about three o'clock this morning in Crandon near the intersection of Hazeldell and Washington streets.

A witness says 10 area youth between the ages of 17 and 20 were at the home at the time of the shooting.

The Forest County Sheriff's Department will not tell us anything, but we the Oconto County Sheriff's Department has confirmed the shooter, Tyler Peterson, has been shot and killed.

http://www.wjfw.com/stories.html?sku=20071007103554

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Posted by: Inspector

RANDON - Six people were killed early Sunday morning in a shooting rampage in northern Wisconsin according to Crandon police Chief John Dennee.

A dispatcher for the State Patrol who declined to give his full name said several of its officers had gone to Forest County to aid in the investigation because the alleged shooter is an employee of the Forest County Sheriff's Department and a part-time officer for the Crandon Police Department.

"We're not looking for anybody anymore," said Chief Dennee, who was outside the police department, no more than two blocks from where the shooting occurred. Dennee declined comment when asked whether the suspect was dead.

But county supervisor Ray Statezny Jr. said he heard that the suspect was shot and killed in the Town of Argonne.

WJFW in Rhinelander also said it has confirmed that the suspect died on county Highway N, north of Crandon.

Two of the victims were students at Crandon High School. The other four were recent graduates.

Sacred Heart St. Mary’s Hospital in Rhinelander said it treated and released one victim, a man in his early 20’s, who was treated for minor injuries from shattered glass.

The State Patrol and Crandon Fire Department detoured a steady stream of traffic from two blocks of U.S. Highway 8 in the downtown area. Some residents stood in nearby front yards in the community where the fall temperatures soared into the 80s.

WITI-TV, CRANDON, Wis. -- An off-duty sheriff's deputy went on a shooting rampage early Sunday in remote northern Wisconsin, killing six people and critically injuring a seventh before authorities fatally shot him, officials said.

The suspect was 20 years old, and worked full-time as a Forest County deputy sheriff and part-time as a Crandon police officer, Forest County Sheriff Keith Van Cleve said. He would not release the suspect's name but said he was off-duty at the time of the shooting.

Crandon Police Chief John Dennee said the suspect killed six people and a seventh shooting victim was in critical condition at a Marshfield hospital. A Crandon police officer who responded to gunshots was treated at a hospital for injuries related to flying glass and released.

The sheriff said he would meet with Wisconsin Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen on Monday morning to discuss the case. Dennee said the state Department of Criminal Investigation will handle the case because he was a deputy and officer.

Gary Bradley, mayor of the city of about 2,000, said earlier Sunday afternoon that the suspect was dead.

"He was brought down by a sniper," Bradley said.

Van Cleve would not confirm that officers shot the suspect.

One of the dead was 14-year-old Lindsey Stahl, said her mother, Jenny Stahl, 39.

She said her daughter called her Saturday night and asked whether she could sleep over at a friend's house. Jenny Stahl agreed.

"I'm waiting for somebody to wake me up right now. This is a bad, bad dream," the weeping mother said. "All I heard it was a jealous boyfriend and he went berserk. He took them all out."

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Posted by: kwflatbed

Residents question how off-duty deputy who killed 6 in Wisconsin passed background check





CRANDON, Wis. -- The residents Tyler Peterson was hired to protect and serve can't understand how the 20-year-old who shot six of their young people and critically injured another could have passed a background check to become a sheriff's deputy.
Peterson was shot to death after opening fire early Sunday on a group of students and recent graduates who had gathered for pizza and movies on their high school's homecoming weekend. Peterson was off-duty from his full-time job as a Forest County deputy sheriff; he also was a part-time Crandon police officer.
David Franz, 36, who lives with his wife two houses from the duplex where the shooting occurred, said it was hard to accept that someone in law enforcement was the gunman.
"The first statement we said to each other was, how did he get through the system?" Franz said. "How do they know somebody's background, especially that young? It is disturbing, to say the least."
Sheriff Keith Van Cleve said he would meet with state Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen on Monday morning to discuss the case.
Crandon Police Chief John Dennee said it would be handled by the state Department of Criminal Investigation because the suspect was a deputy and officer.
Peterson was killed Sunday afternoon, eight miles north of Crandon in the rural town of Argonne, Dennee said.
Crandon mayor Gary Bradley said Sunday that a sniper killed the suspect, but Van Cleve would not confirm that officers shot him.
The gunman's motive was unclear, but the mother of a 14-year-old victim, Lindsey Stahl, said the suspect may have been a jealous boyfriend.
"I'm waiting for somebody to wake me up right now. This is a bad, bad dream," said Jenny Stahl. "All I heard it was a jealous boyfriend and he went berserk. He took them all out."
Dennee declined comment on whether Peterson had a romantic relationship with any of the victims.
The white, two-story duplex was about a block from downtown Crandon, a town of about 2,000 located 225 miles north of Milwaukee in an area known for logging and outdoor activities. The victims had gathered for what Dennee described as "a pizza and movie party."
Three of the victims were Crandon High School students, said school Superintendent Richard Peters, and the other three had graduated within the past three years.
"There is probably nobody in Crandon who is not affected by this," Peters said, adding that students "are going to wake up in shock and disbelief and a lot of pain."
Peters did not know whether Peterson had graduated from the 300-student school. But Crandon resident Karly Johnson, 16, said that she knew the gunman and that he had helped her in a tech education class.
"He graduated with my brother," she said. "He was nice. He was an average guy. Normal. You wouldn't think he could do that."
The Crandon School District called off classes Monday.
One victim, 20-year-old Bradley Schultz, was a third-year student at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee who was home to visit his friends, said his aunt, Sharon Pisarek.
"We still don't have many details, but from what they've told us, there was a girl next to him and he was covering her, protecting her," she said, sobbing. "He was loved by everybody. He was everybody's son. Senseless."
David Franz's wife, Marci, said she was awakened by the gunshots.
"I heard probably five or six shots, a short pause and then five or six more," she said. "I wasn't sure if it was gunfire initially. I thought some kids were messing around and hitting a nearby metal building."
Then she heard eight louder shots and tires squealing, she said.
"I was just about to get up and call it in, and I heard sirens," she said. "There's never been a tragedy like this here. There's been individual incidents, but nothing of this magnitude."

http://www1.whdh.com/news/articles/national/BO63982/

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Posted by: Barbrady

I just heard on the news that this nutjob kid was firing at LE as they responded. Also, it may have been a department issue rifle used in the killings and he had admitted being the shooter via phone before getting put down. Jealous puss.

It is true he exchanged gunfire with LE. He went into a rage when people at the party called him, "a worthless pig". Oh yeah, and he never had a pre-employment psych. eval....hired at 19.http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21181488/

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Posted by: kwflatbed

Argument Led to Wisconsin Deputy's Rampage

Updated: October 9th, 2007 09:20 AM EDT

By ROBERT IMRIE
Associated Press Writer


CRANDON, Wis. --
The off-duty sheriff's deputy who shot six people at a pizza party told a friend he had gone to his ex-girlfriend's house hoping to patch up their relationship.
Tyler Peterson, 20, lost control when they got into an argument and her friends began calling him a "worthless pig," Mike Kegley told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
"He was just very remorseful about what happened," Kegley said.
Police declined to provide details of the argument that preceded the shooting but said Peterson had stormed out of the party, retrieved an AR-15 rifle from his vehicle and burst back into the house firing 30 shots.
All but one of the people at the party were killed.
"We had no idea, obviously, that anything like this would ever occur," Crandon Police Chief John Dennee told reporters Monday.
Peterson, a deputy and part-time Crandon police officer, later died after what authorities said was an exchange of gunfire with law enforcement officers. It was unclear whether Peterson was shot by police, took his own life or was wounded and then shot himself.
Kegley said Peterson came to his door about five hours after the rampage early Sunday and calmly told him what happened.
"He wasn't running around crazy or anything. He was very, very sorry for what he did," said Kegley, adding that he gave Peterson coffee and food and later made repeated calls to 911.
Kegley wouldn't comment when reached by The Associated Press Monday.
"I ain't talking no more," he said when contacted again Monday evening.
District Attorney Leon Stenz said he talked with Peterson by telephone for five or 10 minutes right before Peterson was killed, as they tried unsuccessfully to find a way for Peterson to turn himself in.
Peterson seemed calm and said he had talked to an attorney, but the two didn't talk about what had happened at the house, he said.
"He didn't call to confess," Stenz said.
Moments later, Peterson ran toward a wooded area where he was shot, he said.
Stenz said he knew Peterson quite well because he handled several cases with him.
"He always seemed to be level-headed and fine during those meetings. I think he wanted to talk to me because he knows I'm fair," Stenz said.
The rampage raised questions in the remote northern Wisconsin community of 2,000 of whether Peterson was qualified for his law enforcement positions.
Police acknowledged Peterson received no psychological screening before being hired Sept. 11, 2006. His yearlong probation ended last month.
"No person that I've ever known at 20 years old was responsible enough to be a police officer," said Steve Bocek, of Oak Creek, whose 20-year-old nephew Bradley Schultz was killed. "It's unbelievable. You don't have the mind to be a police officer. It takes a lot."
But Crandon City Attorney Lindsay Erickson said age doesn't matter as long as officers do their jobs well. Peterson testified for her in several cases, wrote good reports and was "true to his job," she said.
"From what I saw of him, I didn't see any warning signs or red flags," Erickson said.
Dr. Phil Trompetter, a police psychologist in Modesto, Calif., estimated at least 40 states require psychological testing of prospective officers.
"Wisconsin must be in a very small minority," he said.
The Wisconsin Department of Justice Law Enforcement Standards Board requires only that applicants be free of emotional or mental conditions that might hinder them in their duties. It does not say how that is determined.
No formal national standards exist for hiring police, although individual states are adopting requirements such as mandatory psychological tests, said Craig Zendzian, author of several guidebooks for police applicants.
In Minnesota, police officers must be licensed by the state Board of Peace Officer Standards and Training, which includes an evaluation by a licensed psychologist.
The six young people who died were either students or graduates of Crandon High School, where Peterson also had graduated.
They were at the house to share pizza and watch movies during the school's homecoming weekend.
Classes were canceled Monday, and many teens went to a church to meet with counselors.
The other victims were identified as Jordanne Murray, 18, Peterson's ex-girlfriend; Katrina McCorkle, 18; Leanna Thomas, 18; Aaron Smith, 20; and Lindsey Stahl, 14.
The lone survivor, Charlie Neitzel, 21, of Pickerel, was upgraded to serious condition and was improving Monday at a hospital.
Pastor Bill Farr read a statement from Peterson's family in which relatives expressed their shock and sorrow.
"Our hearts go out to the victims, their families and their friends. We are grieving for your losses. We feel a tremendous amount of guilt and shame for the acts Tyler committed," it said.
"We may never receive the answers we all seek. Like those close to Tyler we are in shock and disbelief that he would do such terrible things. This was not the Tyler we knew and loved."
____
Associated Press writers Todd Richmond in Madison, Wis., and Amy Forliti in Minneapolis contributed to this story.


Wire Service

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Posted by: j809

Quote:

Police acknowledged Peterson received no psychological screening before being hired Sept. 11, 2006. His yearlong probation ended last month.

Sign the check now.

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Posted by: Barbrady

You aint lying.

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Posted by: CPT Chaos

Wis. AG: Deputy Shot Himself 3 Times
By ROBERT IMRIE
Associated Press Writer

CRANDON, Wis. (AP) -- An off-duty sheriff's deputy who killed six people apparently shot himself three times, with the last shot hitting him in the right side of the head, the state attorney general said Tuesday.

Tyler Peterson, 20, shot himself twice under the chin, while the third and fatal shot entered the right side of his head, Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen said. Peterson also was shot once in the left biceps from a distance.

The six people who died were either students or recent graduates of Crandon High School, where Peterson also had graduated. They were at the house to share pizza and watch movies during the school's homecoming weekend when Peterson attacked early Sunday.

The lone survivor was scheduled for surgery Tuesday afternoon.
Peterson died near a friend's home in Argonne.
Van Hollen said Peterson went to Jordanne Murray's home about 2 a.m. and argued with her after accusing her of dating someone else. Murray demanded Peterson leave, and he did, only to return with an AR-15 rifle.

"He didn't speak, he simply opened fire," Van Hollen said.
Investigators found three bodies on or next to a couch - Lindsey Stahl, 14; Aaron Smith, 20, and Bradley Schultz, 20. Murray, 18, was found in the kitchen.

Lianna Thomas, 18, was found in a closet, and Katrina McCorkle, 18, was just outside it. Both had apparently been trying to hide, Van Hollen said.
The last person shot was survivor Charlie Neitzel, 21, of Pickerel. He pleaded with Peterson after the first shot, only to have him fire again, Van Hollen said. Neitzel fell to the floor, where he lay still as Peterson fired a third time.
"Playing dead until Peterson left, Neitzel survived," Van Hollen said.

© 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

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Posted by: kwflatbed

Wisconsin Officials Tight-Lipped on Shooting

By TODD RICHMOND
Associated Press Writer


MADISON, Wis. --
The state's top law enforcement official is drawing criticism for encouraging the public not to answer reporters' questions about a north woods shooting by an off-duty sheriff's deputy that left seven dead, including the gunman.
Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen last week said law enforcers would not answer questions about the case in the city where it took place, and he relayed a request that Crandon residents ignore reporters asking questions. He then left the podium without taking questions.
A week after the shooting, authorities have released little or no information on autopsy findings, certain 911 calls made during a manhunt and crime-scene evidence. The crime is one state's biggest homicide cases, and in addition to being a deputy, the shooter was also a part-time officer on the Crandon police force.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel said in an editorial Thursday that among the questions left unanswered is whether there was a problem with the police response, and whether psychological screening is needed for police recruits.
"The news media must give the survivors room to grieve in private," the editorial said. "But they must also do their job - report on a matter of great importance to the state. Unfortunately, Van Hollen has signaled that he may make the media's job harder."
Van Hollen said Tuesday at a news conference that victims' families had "asked me to ask the community at large to stop talking to the press. As such, we in the law enforcement community will do our part by having no further comments to the press from Forest County."
Van Hollen was simply passing on the victims' families' "very human desire to grieve in peace," said Kevin St. John, a spokesman for the state Department of Justice, which Van Hollen leads. More information will be released in time, he said.
Still, the Wausau Daily Herald called Van Hollen's statement inappropriate. "No one has the authority to suggest that an entire community remain silent," read an editorial Friday.
Unanswered questions still abound, the editorial said, including what led to the suspect's death. "How did he end up with three pistol wounds to the head and a rifle wound to an arm?"
Authorities have said that 20-year-old Tyler Peterson gunned down six people, including his ex-girlfriend, when he went to their late-night pizza party Oct. 7. Peterson wounded another person at the party before fleeing.
Officers from a number of agencies tracked Peterson to a cabin later in the day, but Peterson fatally shot himself as they closed in, the attorney general has said.
The shooting drew dozens of reporters to Crandon, a town of 2,000 about 100 miles northwest of Green Bay. Many residents refused to speak to them after Van Hollen's statement. Some told reporters to go home.
Crandon Mayor Gary Bradley said he wished Van Hollen would have come down harder on the press.
"The news media was very aggressive, very aggressive people. They're not taking into consideration what people are going through here," Bradley said. "They set their cameras up with no regard to where they were. These people aren't running around with their brains."
But Doug Lee, an attorney who writes for Vanderbilt University's First Amendment Center, said that while some reporters do act like "rabid dogs," they're the minority. The attorney general's request reflects a trend in government to treat the media as the enemy, he said.
"You would think in an environment like this one, where there are a lot of emotions flying around, part of the grieving process, part of the healing process, would be to talk and to share," Lee said. "It's somewhat patronizing. Why can't people make their own determinations about speaking to the media?"


Wire Service

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Posted by: Barbrady

Quote:

Originally Posted by CPT Chaos Tyler Peterson, 20, shot himself twice under the chin, while the third and fatal shot entered the right side of his head, Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen said.

What a mess that must have been.

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Posted by: Inspector

This tragedy and the shortage of qualified police candidates is causing many to debate the question of swearing in officers who are under twenty-one years of age.

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Posted by: Barbrady

Yup, in this case it could have been avoided. Immature nutbar.

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Posted by: 94c

It's one thing if he got that job through some type of process. It would be another if it happened to be a favor for someone.

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Posted by: kwflatbed


Wisconsin house where 6 were killed demolished

By ROBERT IMRIE, Associated Press Writer



CRANDON, Wis. - The home where six young people died when a jealous off-duty sheriff's deputy went on a shooting rampage eight months ago has been likened to an infection in this small northern Wisconsin city.
The cure came early Saturday morning, when workers demolished the house.
"The house has got to go," said Bill Farr, pastor of Praise Chapel Community Church and chairman of the committee that bought the property near downtown to convert it to a memorial.
"It has no symbol of hope," he said. "It has no symbol of peace. It is only a symbol of tragedy."
About 100 people watched from the streets Saturday just after sunrise as crews flattened the house with a backhoe and logging crane. The morning silence was broken only by the roar of the equipment and splintering of the wood.
"It's hard for me to put into words. Relief will set in eventually," said Ed Smith, father of victim Aaron Smith, as he watched the wreckage being loaded onto a truck. "We're going to take a vacation and go camping for five days. We really and truly need a break."
Hours earlier, a somber crowd of a few hundred people gathered at a Friday night vigil outside the white, two-story home. Many wore maroon T-shirts that said "Crandon Angels, rest in our hearts," and had the victims' names printed on the back.
Baskets of flowers hung from the front porch. A banner across the front window showed birds being released from the hands of a Biblical figure and flying toward the sun, with a message reading, "One day we who are bound for heaven shall all be together again."
A thunderstorm with bolts of lightning and pouring rain moved in just before the vigil was to start, temporarily delaying it.
Fred Ackley, a member of the Mole Lake Chippewa band, took part in a ceremonial drum song and told the crowd that the property was a sacred area. The ceremony will help make it become pure again once the house is removed, he said.
"The rain came and it tells me the Great Spirit is blessing us," he said. "It's a way of showing us we are doing the right thing."
Many wiped away tears as 19-year-old Lucy Roberts sang Sarah McLaughlin's "Angel," with its refrain of, "You're in the arms of the angel, may you find some comfort here."
Roberts said she knew all the victims.
The crowd held lit candles as Farr ended the vigil, saying the house represented a "black cloud of darkness and despair," but the memorial will honor the victims and make it a place of peace, love and healing.
Jennifer Blank, mother of victim Jordanne Murray, was there for the demolition, calling the house a constant reminder of something horrible.
Lee Smith, the mother of victim Aaron Smith, said she has anxiously waited for the house to be removed. The location is near the Post Office, so she couldn't always avoid it.
"I don't come by here unless I have to," she said.

"We will always remember what happened here, but once the house is gone we can move forward a little bit. We are never going to forget."
A backhoe and a logging truck with big claws to lift the wreckage were already parked behind the home. Workers who are volunteering their time and equipment began ripping down the house around 5 a.m. Saturday. Organizers said the debris would be hauled away before noon. The remains are to be buried in an undisclosed landfill in another state to make sure no one ever obtains a piece.
"I have related it like an infection," Farr said, "and until you clean out that infection, you can't heal. I see that in the families. They look at the house. They remember their kids. But on the other hand, they also remember they were killed there so it is a very difficult edifice to look at and have there."
In this close-knit town of 2,000 people where logging and recreation are key industries, the home was an eyesore for many.
Early the morning of Oct. 7, Tyler Peterson went to the house where Murray lived and accused her of dating someone else. Murray demanded Peterson leave, and he did — only to return with an AR-15 assault rifle he was issued as a member of the Forest County Sheriff's SWAT team.
Peterson, 20, broke down the door and opened fire on the young people attending Murray's party, methodically gunning them down.
He killed Murray, 18; Bradley Schultz, 20; Lindsey Stahl, 14; Aaron Smith, 20; Lianna Thomas, 18; and Katrina McCorkle, 18. Charlie Neitzel, 21, shot three times during the rampage, played dead and lived.
Peterson, also a part-time Crandon police officer, ran out of the home, shot at an arriving police squad car and then fled in his pickup truck.
Hours later, Peterson shot himself three times in the head near a friend's home north of Crandon after police efforts to get him to surrender failed.
A committee headed by Farr formed shortly after the shootings and raised $71,000 to buy the property from Murray's father.
The investigation of the shootings caused much damage inside the house, which had been remodeled into a duplex where Murray and her father lived, the pastor said.
Only two victims' relatives have wanted to go inside, he said.
One family that did felt relief, Farr said. "They felt that they were finally able to say goodbye."
The plan had always been to demolish the home — initially by burning it down. It just took longer to do than originally hoped, Farr said.
"We plan to replace it with something more positive, something more beautiful, something more edifying," he said.
The idea is a six-sided gazebo, with each wall dedicated to one of the victims and a water fountain in the middle, said Sue Hill, treasurer of the Fountain of Youth Memorial Fund. The hope is to finish construction by the one-year anniversary of the shootings. "The families have worked very, very hard to get to this point," Hill said.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080621/...onsin_shooting

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