Posted on 11/23/2004 11:17:04 AM PST by whodeani
Suspect says hunters provoked him
Vang says he was surrounded, called names and shot at before shootings
By JOHN DIEDRICH, LEE BERGQUIST and TOM HELD jdiedrich@journalsentinel.com Posted: Nov. 23, 2004
Hayward - The suspect arrested for shooting eight hunters, killing six of them, says he was surrounded by the group, called derogatory racial names and shot at before he opened fire, according to court records released today.
His account differs sharply from details released Monday by the Sheriff's Department and from the accounts from some of the victims, who describe an essentially unprovoked shooting rampage by Chai Soua Vang, a 36-year-old Hmong man from St. Paul, Minn.
Vang, a truck driver, is suspected in the slayings of six hunters and the wounding of two others, according to a probable cause determination signed by Judge Norman L. Yackel here this morning.
Vang is being held on $2.5 million cash bail.
Officials said the Wisconsin Attorney General's Office will prosecute the case, because of its scope and complexity.
Meanwhile, The two survivors continued to improve, officials said.
Terry Willers, the first hunter shot who was hit in the neck, was upgraded from serious to fair at St. Joseph's Hospital in Marshfield today.
Lauren Hesebeck, 48, was released from the hospital Monday night before 9 p.m. He was shot in the shoulder.
Theresa Hesebeck, also the sister of Denny Drew, who died Monday night, said the family was trying to regroup on Tuesday morning and that her husband was recovering at home.
"Your place is at home at a time like this," she said.
The couple have a blended family that includes seven children.
David Drew, a brother of Denny Drew, said Tuesday he was trying to come to grips with the death of his brother and close friends.
A prayer vigil is set for 7 tonight at the Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Haugen, where three of the victims lived.
Complete coverage of this story will appear online later today and in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel in the morning.
What i'm saying is something happened... and we don;t have all the facts... we only have one side of the story... How would you feel say, if you moved to like... oh.... Britian... and you were hunting, and you got surrounded by a bunch of brits and they were yelling things at you calling you stuff, pushing your around, then while you walked away they fired a shot over your head... This man had a military background and it is your duty to protect yourself if you get shot at... Remember Hmongs faught on OUR side during Vietnam, and many of them got US citizenship because of their service... I worked with one of those men and he was a GREAT GUY! He couldn't speak very good English but as his supervisor I couldn't ask for a harder working, more respectful person on my crew... I also has some of his relatives, younger guys that were born in the US that were not as hard working or respectful, but of the 3 men that were actually born in Laos they were a joy to work with...
he was a truck drive for the Army according to his younger brother, have not heard any confirmation.
They sure trained him well. Is it just me or does this story remind you of the movie First Blood.
That cinches it. I am buying an SKS. I was looking at an ad for one the other day.
Do you possess evidence that the perp was pushed and shoved?
Or you just making this up as you go along?
Poaching.
I agree with this statement 100% ! The older Hmongs are GREAT! The younger generation does not have the same honor, I wish they did... wonderful people if they could galvanize that into the younger generation...
Is it credible to believe that a group of hunters went to confront Vang with only one gun?
Wasn't my research -- it was the research of the poster of that thread. But point taken -- apparently not the same guy. However, we don't know the whole story yet, so we can't fairly reach a conclusion about whether the victims were "killed in cold blood", or whether there was a misinterpretation of actions leading to a tragically mistaken set of reactions, or whether the Hmong guy was an "animal". It seems a bit unlikely that the Hmong guy, who apparently has no significant criminal record, just up and shot 6 people because one of them politely asked him to leave their private property. I think there's probably more to the story.
Yeah that part seems to defy reason.
No evidence, but it seems rather strange for him, EVEN RON ARTEST to do something, without being set off by something... It is a tragedy that happened, but I would like all the weapons tested and see if they were fired... For some reason I want to believe this man... I think he thought he was going to get lynched...
It is just as wrong to attribute virtue to an entire people just because you had a good experience with one of them as it is to denigrate an entire people because you had a bad experience with one. This guy is a violent thug. Capice, paisan?
That's the ticket.
A better question would be, is it credible for a group of hunters to in the woods on opening day unarmed...
Yes, I think further investigation will show two sides to this story. Probably with neither side coming out looking completely blameless.
Wrong. The guy has a history of arrests for domestic violence, threatening people with firearms, and poaching. He just never got convicted on the domestic violence charges because his ex-wife refused to press charges.
I'd nominate you for the "Great Big Ol' Liberal Snuggle-Bunny of-the-Day Award" except that you are accusing dead people of criminality and racism based on absolutely no evidence whatsoever. Oh wait, that's EXACTLY what liberals do. Consider yourself nominated, dude!
All you need to find is the empty casings. The first place to look is in the receiver of the one gun that the hunters had with them. My guess is that this guy shot the one with the gun first, and no return shot was fired.
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