Posted on 11/22/2004 7:20:55 AM PST by Rio
BIRCHWOOD, Wis. - A deer hunter shot and killed five people and wounded 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 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.
Paul Schnell, a spokesman for the St. Paul, Minn., police department, said the man was from St. Paul.
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 a 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 mm semiautomatic rifle, a common hunting weapon. Wisconsin's statewide deer gun hunting season started Saturday and lasts for nine days.
Two young people who stayed in the cabin emerged safely after the shootings.
The suspect, who did not have a compass, got lost in the woods and two hunters, not knowing about the shootings, helped him find his way out, Zeigle said. When he emerged, a Department of Natural Resources officer recognized the deer license on his back, given to police by a victim, Zeigle said.
The man was out of bullets and was arrested, Zeigle said.
One of the injured hunters was in critical condition at St. Joseph's Hospital. Another was listed in serious condition and the third was in fair condition, both at Lakeview Medical Center.
Hunter Bill Wagner, 72, of Oshkosh, was about two miles away near Deer Lake with a party of about 20 other hunters. After they got word of the shooting, he and others went to round up the rest of the party. He said they heard sirens, planes and helicopters and noticed the surrounding roads blocked off.
"When you're hunting you don't expect somebody to try to shoot you and murder you," he said. "You have no idea who is coming up to you."
It took about three hours to round up the other hunters, who were up to four miles apart, Wagner said. "We're all old, dyed-in-wool hunters," he said. "We wouldn't go home because of this but we will keep it in our minds. We're not forgetting it."
"...SKS 7.62 mm semiautomatic rifle, a common hunting weapon."
Not here in Penna.
He used an assault weapon too as per the MSM. You always use an assault weapon when deer hunting, doncha know?
bump
Good grief! The SKS was an Eastern Block semi-auto combat rifle before being replaced by the more maintenance friendly AK-47. The 7.62X39 round is not particularly a good deer round either.
If the SKS is a “common hunting weapon” up there, the game wardens must be really on edge . . . and a shootout between 3 round bolt guns and someone with a semi-auto is hardly fair and not very intelligent on the part of the people with the bolt guns!
they may have been returning fire after the dude with the semi auto opened up only thing i can think of that makes sense here
Game postponed for lack of ammo.
Another case of multiculturalism run amok. Here's guessing Mr. Vang has never been hunting before. He probably doesn't understand the term "posted". His firearm was bought more for ego satisfaction than it's finely crafted ability to make one clean shot.
I don't know what kind of Hunter Education Mr. Vang went though but clearly, it wasn't enough.
...and he used a Chicom 7.62-mm rifle, go figure < /scarcasm >
It wouldn’t surprise me if one of the hunters opened up on him first. It was their land and he was trespassing. They wouldn’t have realized that they were confronting someone who had likely been in a fire fight before and was armed as he was.
As for this nutjob psycho poacher, he needs to fry.
I doubt any of them shot back. The perp was found with no ammo. ~20 rounds were reportedly fired. 8 people were shot, some of them twice. They probably froze. A bolt gun is fine though for someone to return fire. One shot is all it takes.
I suspect it was a firearm he was accustomed to and could afford . . . considerably cheaper than even a workhorse Model 700 or Model 70. Ammo’s cheaper, as well.
I'll take my BA everytime Pete. Friday afternoon, I drove right down W 70 directly past that area. I saw a MINN. plate car with a goofy looking easterner exploring through junk in the trunk of his car. Since we don't see a lot of those folks up here, I made a mental note of it. I wonder if this guy is here legally?
But, we really need those guest workers to keep the funeral and mortuary business humming!
Maybe I should start a line of sportswear; hunter orange kevlar vests.
I have purchased an SKS for use by my sons, when they were younger to use deer hunting. I even hand loaded premium bullets so they could use if for that purpose. Balistically, it is not that far different from a 30-30 and about as accurate (I have a Marlin 336 30-30) at 100 yards. The biggest problem with the 7.62x39 ammo for hunting is finding quality ammo. If you manufacture your own it isn't a problem.
Another reason that I got the SKS for my sons when they took hunter safety, was that as a gas operated semi-auto, its recoil is quite mild. Finally, the stock is cut for a "small" person. In short the SKS can be a reasonable deer hunting rifle for the right person and they are quite inexpensive for the quality one gets.
Having said that, I still prefer my Win Mod 70 30-06 for deer.
I am sure that this incident will shortly be the poster child for calls by Democrats to ban all semi-auto firearms or at least all "military style" semi-automatic firearms.
Yeah, obviously I don’t know for a fact. One does have to wonder what Mr. Vang was doing “hunting” with a fully charged SKS and an additional stripper clip. If he had a license, he had to know that was not legal (it certainly isn’t here).
I’ll concede your point about bolt guns and one shot . . . but it takes a certain measure of expertise and experience to prevail that way when lead is being slung.
Actually fairly common, though they may prompt an occasional check by a warden to to be sure you're not using jacketed ammunition.
Sounds like a Lao name.
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