Well I just got the call. All of the family knows our family friend is gone. Her name was Leanna Thomas and she was a beautiful, smart, responsible high school senior who had a very promising future stolen from her. :(
Damm. Sad.
My Condolences on the loss of your friend.
Deputy Kills 6 People in Crandon
Suspect Shot and Killed Hours LaterSean O'Flaherty
CRANDON - An off duty deputy sheriff shot and killed six people in Crandon early this morning. That's about 25 miles east of Rhinelander.
The deputy is Tyler Peterson. He fled from the scene, but he was surrounded by police, north of Crandon early this afternoon. Peterson is from Crandon. He was shot to death. It is not clear if he killed himself or if he was killed by a SWAT team.
The original shooting occurred at a home in Crandon about 3 o'clock this morning. Crandon township supervisor Ray Statezny Jr. said that the shooting was the result of a love triangle involving the deputy, a young woman, and another police officer.
"All I really heard was that there was a shooting," Statezny said. "Two officers was involved. There's either 5 or 6 people dead. And the last thing I heard was the shooter was dead. The one officer that did the shooting was going with the one girl that got killed. Then they split up and this other officer started going with her," Statezny said.
Another resident says he heard suspect broke up with girlfriend last week. She is apparently still in high school. This was supposedly a homecoming party.
After Peterson fled the scene, he reportedly took six people hostage in a home north of Crandon.
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 Crandon Police Chief John 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 Statezny 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.
"It's a pretty tragic situation here," said Forest County Supervisor Tom Vollmar, who lives just outside Crandon, where the shootings occurred.
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.
WJFW quotes a witness who said gun fire broke out around 3 a.m. at a Crandon home near the intersection of Hazeldell and Washington streets.
The witness said 10 area youth between the ages of 17 and 20 were at the party at the time.
The victims included Crandon High School students, recent graduates and the ex-girlfriend of the suspect, said Karly Johnson, 16.
She said she knew the suspect and he 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."
Jenna Bradley, 16, said she was told about 10 people were at a party at the ex-girlfriend's apartment at the time of the shooting. She said she was shocked.
"It's Crandon. Nothing happens in Crandon, ever," she said.
Justin Tokarczyk, 17, said he was angry that someone in law enforcement was involved.
"You figured he would be here for safety," Tokarczyk said. "I don't know how anybody could think about doing that."
Crandon Mayor Gary Bradley declined comment on the status of the investigation.
"We are going to get together and be strong," he said. "We are a strong community. We always have been. This is agonizing but we will prevail."
The northeast Wisconsin city of about 2,000 people is about 225 miles north of Milwaukee. It's in an area known for logging, and fishing, hunting and snowmobiling.
God I hate the media. They make it sound like the kids in the house were partiers/trouble kids but they were all at the house because they did NOT party. They didnt want to go out with everyone else and get drunk. These were just not that sort of kids. /sigh
This is terrible. I wish it weren’t true. I pray for her and for all of us.
I’m sorry......
So sad.
To have to grieve the tragic and senseless lossess of life like this.
I’m sorry for your loss.
Not much more can be said in a case like this. Nothing excuses or mitigates what this scumbag did. That he took an oath to protect and serve and killed far more than just the target of his rage indicates he had a low character to begin with.