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| -Lurid Crime Tales- |
| 5 Killed, 3 Hurt in Wisconsin "Hunting Dispute" |
| 2004-11-22 |
| A deer hunter who apparently intruded on private property killed five other hunters who had been staying in a nearby cabin and wounded three more during the opening weekend of deer season, authorities said. Deputy Jake Hodgkinson identified the suspect as Chai Vang but would give no details. Vang is from St. Paul, Minn., said Paul Schnell, a spokesman for the St. Paul police department. The shooting started when two hunters returning to their rural cabin saw the suspect in one of their hunting platforms in a tree, Sawyer County Chief Deputy Tim Zeigle said. The platforms or "tree stands" allow hunters to see deer without being easily seen themselves. Both of those hunters were wounded and one of them radioed friends at the cabin a quarter-mile away. Other members of their group responded and they also were shot, he said. "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. About 20 shots were fired but it was unclear if any of the hunters had fired at the suspect or who might have shot first, Zeigle said. There was just one gun among the eight people killed or wounded, he said. The dead included a a teenage boy and a woman, and a father and son, Zeigle said. Some of the victims were shot more than once. All five were from the Rice Lake area, about 15 miles southwest of Birchwood in northwestern Wisconsin, he said. Authorities found two bodies near each other and the others were scattered over 100 yards. The suspect, who did not have a compass, got lost in the woods and two other hunters who didn't know about the shootings helped him find his way out, Zeigle said. The man was arrested when he emerged from the woods and a Department of Natural Resources officer recognized the deer license on his back from a description given by one of the shooting victims, Zeigle said. The man was out of ammunition, he said. The description of the incident as a "hunting dispute" and of the victims as a "group of hunters" would seem to be unsupportable then. It seems more likely that this was a family group who had come to the woods with a hunter, but who were not themselves hunters. This was a case of trespassing, or perhaps even a planned ambush. In the AP's PC lexicon, of course, people who shoot furry forest friends could not be the victims of a cold-blooded mass murder. |
| Posted by:Atomic Conspiracy |
| #7 There is an element here that I doubt the MSM has picked up yet. The suspect is a member of the Hmong (sp) minority group. Of late there has been quite a bit of animosity over the continued settlement of these people in the upper mid west as they seemingly refuse to assimilate. If they are hunting or fishing during or out of season means nothing to them as do bag limits. When the two individuals initially chased him off of private property I'm willing to bet that racial ephitets were slung around. As to this being just a family group accompanying a hinter up in that part of the state the schools close down for deer season. A lot of the locals refer to it as "Holy Week". These were quite likely a group of family members and friends that had hunted to gether for years. |
| Posted by: Cheaderhead 2004-11-22 5:16:08 PM |
| #6 It takes discipline and patience to stalk a deer and get into position to safely shoot and get a good, clean kill. -Absolutely AP. My contention has always been w/other "stand hunters" shooting at folks. No excuse imo for endangering another hunter. If you can't positively i.d. what you're shooting at, don't shoot. Luckily I've never had to return fire on another hunter, yet. |
| Posted by: Jarhead 2004-11-22 4:13:45 PM |
| #5 The self-imposed pressure on many deer hunters gives 'em buck fever and their minds do the rest. It takes discipline and patience to stalk a deer and get into position to safely shoot and get a good, clean kill. Many people do not have what it takes to get there, much less not shoot at a deer where the shot is marginal or possibly unsafe. |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2004-11-22 4:08:02 PM |
| #4 True N Guard. I prefer Bowhunting as well for the more pure art of it, and, imho the bow hunters are more serious folks. I'm trying to get into recurves now after years of using a compound. OTOH, I must admit, I love gun hunting as well (I'm a big gun nut). I've never understood how hunters can mistake other hunters for deer & thus take a shot at them, just pure negligence and recklessness. People like that should not be allowed in the woods. |
| Posted by: Jarhead 2004-11-22 4:01:17 PM |
| #3 This is why I don't hunt during modern rifle season any more. There are too many ID10T's that think they are the "great white hunter". At least during bow season, most of the idiots can't hit you (or anything else) at more than 25 yards. To get good (i.e. able to hit a fist sized spot on a deer at 40+ yards) with a bow you have to practice at least 6 months in advance. And getting pissed only decreases accuracy. |
| Posted by: N Guard 2004-11-22 3:47:55 PM |
| #2 "About 20 shots were fired but it was unclear if any of the hunters had fired at the suspect or who might have shot first - there was just one gun among the eight people killed or wounded." >this is odd, if I'm at the cabin & my buddy radios a distress call & he's getting shot at. I damn well bring my trusty .30-30 w/me when trying to help him out. |
| Posted by: Jarhead 2004-11-22 2:47:29 PM |
| #1 This just proves that those RedStater hunter types are all dangerous nuts - nuts I tell ya'! /LLL mode |
| Posted by: Xbalanke 2004-11-22 1:32:34 PM |