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."
I can't speak for rural Wisconsin, but I know a thing or two about rural Iowa. Here, the Sheriff simply doesn't have time to respond to calls asking for assistance with trespassers. And the trespassers know it.
Some people have absolutely NO RESPECT for the rights of property owners. This isn't a malady exclusive to a single race of people. It crosses all lines.
Leupold M3LR 3.5x10 mil-dot. Also, I need to get an AWC Spectrum 2000 suppressor for it (saving up the $). Hunting with a suppressed rifle is legal in VA also, with no magazine capacity limit (unlike for shotguns).
A typical Hmong. They are used to getting their way by the use of force. I know a number of people in Wisconsin who have said that the Hmong have taken over certain public parks. They use force or the threat of force to exclude everyone else. Evidently their "culture" is being preserved intact.
There was something last summer about them down here in Iowa. They were coming down here from Minneapolis and fishing at Saylorville in Des Moines, I believe, and they were limiting up on the fish you could take. But the whole family would come down and limit out. Some of the panfish limits are pretty big. If I remember correctly, the DNR was thinking of re-working the bag limits because of this problem. Alot of the locals were complaining about it. They also would take up the shoreline and would crowd out the local fishermen and intrude on their space. Seems like they just did what they wanted, like you said. Sad!!
" How would you get the deer out of the woods by yourself? "
Drag it, or pack it.
Prayers already sent.
They also have some annual event where they invite huge numbers of relatives/friends over and take over all the parking space on the entire block for several days.
You'll have more meat on the hoof with all the deer and no predators, but moose are bigger, sheep taste better, and its alot of fun herding caribou on snowmachine. Wish we had some elk. We are starting to get whitetails moving in from the yukon territory; maybe my son will kill some down the road. I have a bunch of old pa racks in the 18-22 inch range on boards in my hallway and everyone asks why they are so small; kinda ticks me off but here a nice bull is in low 60's.
Late this summer I was down at one of the natives fish nets and looked across the river and there were 12 dall sheep drinking water out of the yukon. Usually they are up in the rocks & snow above treeline but I guess they were thirsty or just wanted to plant their hoofs in the soft mud for a change. You notice strange things like that a few times each summer. Seeing and feeling everything what keeps me here, not as much the hunting and fishing. We drove back to Pa 8 years ago; planned on staying 2 weeks. It was 90 degrees and just everything seemed like it had changed and we left after 3 days. Living in a bush community of 150 people thats 185 miles away from the nx community just makes you feel like you have some space to breath.
But no joke when I tell people up here about how hunting is back east; they don't believe me. They say well, they're making it so you can't kill nuthin back there, how you supposed to get your meat for the winter/ I just shake my head. Up here, its not about the sport, its about filling the freezer out back.
You have good hunting & lots of stocked fish, but I prefer going hunting knowing I'm not going to see another person or hear another shot I guess. But then they must be doing something right with those elk, cause an old friend sent me a pict of a 6x7 he shot a couple weeks back, lucky bugger drew one of those permits.
I understood the question in another way: I thought Recall was asking "Who was the driver" another words, who was walking thru the timber/woods to drive the deer out for those who were posted to shoot them.
You're an idiot.
Are you defending this immigrant psycho? Because if you are, we need to have a little in-person talk.
How do you know they were forewarned? Did you hear the radio message personally? Who knows how coherent someone who had just been shot was at the time, or how much info he was able to provide to his hunting partners?
An update I read stated that the eight hunters who were fired upon only had one gun between them at the time they realized they were also in danger.
Just for info Recall. Drivers are those who walk, talk and otherwise make noise to get deer to get up and move away twords the standers. Those are the folks already in place waiting to harvest the driven deer.
I usually travel silently though the brush where they are and sometimes wait. This perp was sitting in someone elses tree stand on one of the trails the deer use.
thank you for explaining it better than I could. Obviously, I am not a hunter. I have no gut piles of my own, but my husband and 3 adult sons hunt. I've heard them retell so many hunting stories in my lifetime, I know what needs to be done, I've just never done it myself.
You did a much better job of explaining it than I did.
You did fine. I just repeated it, because I'm dense.
Whoa, North Woody . . . I was thinking (and typing) out loud, well before I knew the facts about all this. I suspect you only read my earlier posts. And, as someone rightfully pointed out, we were getting all into the weapon and losing sight of the murderous event.
In answer to your question, no, I’m not defending this guy.
The gun and cartridge are legal. I read the hunting regulations at the link below and can find no limit on magazine capacity.
http://www.dnr.state.wi.us/org/land/wildlife/regs/Deer04Regs1-35.pdf
Truly amazing to read all the rules and regulations. Makes one very glad to live here in Alabama. No special permits and no such thing as a deer tag. Limit is one or two per day. Hunting season is from mid-October to end of January. And, lots of deer too.
From the above posted Story.
"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. "
Sounds to me that SOMEBODY HAD A RADIO!!
Unlike you, I haven't had the benefit of an updated article.
Read the story my original post was based again and drop the attitude....
Iowa Granny you give me more credit than is due. No, was
thinking deer would be awfully hard to drag out of the woods alone.
I've never been hunting but my dad has three deer heads on the wall of my parents dining room watching us eat. I bought some indoor trees and put them under the deer so it would look like they are looking over the bushes. lol
Theres a family joke that when my dad dies they are going to bury him in his hunting gear attached to one of those deer stands.
I guess if you love the sport you really, really love it.
Thank you for the lesson on "drivers".
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