He's about 45/50 range I believe they said. Father of 4 or 5. A vet from either here or Laos. The sister of young lady shot lives here. Very sad stuff. But you talk about intent. Sounds like he shot the first two from the stand. Then came down from the tree stand and went after these folks. He was in the wrong to start with. Talk about killing fields. All killed and wounded but one. Were found in a 50 yard circle.
STUPID AND JUST UNREAL
- Thread starter fletcher
- Start date
SKS was weapon Vietnamese used often-primarilly because it uses same ammo 7.62 nato round as AK-47. Many of these were brought back as souveniers as they are semi auto.
Wonder what went through his mind shooting unarmed people.
Will be interesting to see his comments but doubt we will.
Wonder what went through his mind shooting unarmed people.
Will be interesting to see his comments but doubt we will.
sks-also popular in north cheap and accurate,must have had two ten shot clips,or the aftermarket 20.or reloaded?thank god he ran out of ammo!
the accused SPORTSMAN was convicted in mn.a few years ago for nearly 100 crappies over the limit.was fined 300$.for what local news described as a minor violation?was also ticketed for tresspassing previously.also threatened wife with pistol,no charges filed.had some milatary training in loas.
why is nobody talking about his hunting partners?who authorities are unable to locate and have not come forward.did they witness or particapate?guess ballistics on sks will tell.many unanswered questions........................
the accused SPORTSMAN was convicted in mn.a few years ago for nearly 100 crappies over the limit.was fined 300$.for what local news described as a minor violation?was also ticketed for tresspassing previously.also threatened wife with pistol,no charges filed.had some milatary training in loas.
why is nobody talking about his hunting partners?who authorities are unable to locate and have not come forward.did they witness or particapate?guess ballistics on sks will tell.many unanswered questions........................
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Minneapolis police said they arrested Vang on Christmas Eve 2001 after he waved a gun and threatened to kill his wife. No charge was brought because she didn't cooperate with authorities, spokesman Ron Reier said. Police in St. Paul said there had been two domestic violence calls to his home in the past year, but both were resolved without incident.
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guns don't kill people, people kill people
Scott,
That is only a picture of his brother, who was waiting to see him in jail.
Vang, the killer, is 35 yrs old...........
He did turn his Orange jacket inside out prior to being found by the other two who excorted him towards the game warden, as they suspected this was the shooter.
More breaking as I type........ :scared
That is only a picture of his brother, who was waiting to see him in jail.
Vang, the killer, is 35 yrs old...........
He did turn his Orange jacket inside out prior to being found by the other two who excorted him towards the game warden, as they suspected this was the shooter.
More breaking as I type........ :scared
not sure if he'll be able to use that defense 6-5....he is only 36 years old, so it would have to be from things recalled to him by others. He's been in the US for 20 years and moved from somewhere in CA to St. Paul
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Posted on Tue, Nov. 23, 2004
Suspect's alleged actions at odds with reputation
But report accuses him of gun threat in 2001
BY TODD NELSON and CHARLES LASZEWSKI
Pioneer Press
The St. Paul man suspected of killing six Wisconsin hunters in a weekend shooting rampage has been accused of brandishing a weapon before, allegedly threatening his wife with a handgun during a family dispute nearly three years ago.
The image of Chai Soua Vang emerging from police reports differs with the man neighbors and acquaintances say they knew ? a clean-cut truck driver who played soccer regularly, kept roosters in his garage and was an avid hunter.
"The few times that I saw him, he was a pretty easygoing person," Hmong activist Michael Yang, who recognized Chai Soua Vang from St. Paul's soccer fields, said Monday. "I never thought that he would be this kind of person. I can't say that I was detecting that from him at all. We're not sure what happened."
Representatives of community groups met Monday to plan their response, concerned in part that the incident would stoke racial tensions. Hmong leaders are to discuss the incident at a news conference this morning in St. Paul. People at the Monday meeting also discussed reports of conflicts between Hmong hunters and other hunters.
"The most important thing now is we need to stay in support of the families of the victims," Michael Yang said. "We need to pray for them."
The gathering also may shed more light on Chai Soua Vang, 36, whose background was unknown to a number of community leaders searching for information on him Monday. The suspect's brother, Sang Vang, 32, said he and his brother came to this country from their native Laos in 1980. Chai Soua Vang is married, has six children and is "a good family man," his brother said. Chai Soua Vang had served in the U.S. Army, is a naturalized citizen and speaks English well.
Sang Vang said he could not believe his older sibling was responsible for Sunday's shootings that killed six hunters and injured two others.
"I don't know what to think," Sang Vang said. "I'm shocked."
The earlier incident involving Chai Soua Vang's alleged use of a weapon occurred while he was living in Minneapolis. He was arrested on Christmas Eve in 2001 after his wife at the time, Say Xiong, told police he had threatened her life while he waved a handgun at her, according to police reports. Three of their children confirmed their mother's account to police, who arrived at 11 p.m. to check on the dispute at 2901 Aldrich Ave. N., a four-unit apartment complex.
Chai Soua Vang told officers he and his wife began arguing when he told her he wanted to separate. As the dispute grew, he told police, he threatened her with the gun. Police seized the unidentified weapon, loaded with a shell in the chamber, from the couple's bedroom.
Chai Soua Vang never faced charges in that incident because his wife refused to cooperate with prosecutors, said officer Ron Reier, Minneapolis police spokesman. In a separate matter, court records from Minneapolis show Chai Soua Vang was charged with possessing 108 crappies, which was 93 over the limit, in April 2001. He pleaded guilty to a petty misdemeanor and paid a fine and fees of $328.
While the police reports on the December 2001 domestic incident indicate Say Xiong was the suspect's wife, on Monday the Associated Press interviewed a woman named Deu Khang, 37, who identified herself as Chai Soua Vang's "cultural" wife. Interviewed at the Wisconsin jail where Chai Sousa Vang was being held, she said she was in shock following the shootings.
"We don't really know what went wrong. We don't know,'' she told the AP.
More recently, St. Paul police were called to Chai Soua Vang's East Side home five times since June 2003, St. Paul police spokesman officer Paul Schnell said. Twice, someone at the house ? on the 800 block of East Fourth Street ? was a victim of a theft and twice they were called on a report of a domestic disturbance. However, police merely advised on the two disturbances and did not write reports, so police have no details, Schnell said.
The other call was on Sept. 15, 2003, to serve a Hennepin County arrest warrant for theft on Xia Yang, then 29, who was at the house. It was not know what Xia Yang's relationship was to Chai Soua Vang, Schnell said.
Neighbors readily conceded the area had more than its share of issues with gunfire, gang activity and drug dealing but did not associate Chai Soua Vang with such problems.
His two-story yellow house is surrounded by a chain-link fence, including a tall chain-link gate with a "no trespassing" sign running across the top of the driveway. St. Paul police helped his family leave the home at 7 p.m. Sunday, Schnell said, at their request.
Posted on Tue, Nov. 23, 2004
Suspect's alleged actions at odds with reputation
But report accuses him of gun threat in 2001
BY TODD NELSON and CHARLES LASZEWSKI
Pioneer Press
The St. Paul man suspected of killing six Wisconsin hunters in a weekend shooting rampage has been accused of brandishing a weapon before, allegedly threatening his wife with a handgun during a family dispute nearly three years ago.
The image of Chai Soua Vang emerging from police reports differs with the man neighbors and acquaintances say they knew ? a clean-cut truck driver who played soccer regularly, kept roosters in his garage and was an avid hunter.
"The few times that I saw him, he was a pretty easygoing person," Hmong activist Michael Yang, who recognized Chai Soua Vang from St. Paul's soccer fields, said Monday. "I never thought that he would be this kind of person. I can't say that I was detecting that from him at all. We're not sure what happened."
Representatives of community groups met Monday to plan their response, concerned in part that the incident would stoke racial tensions. Hmong leaders are to discuss the incident at a news conference this morning in St. Paul. People at the Monday meeting also discussed reports of conflicts between Hmong hunters and other hunters.
"The most important thing now is we need to stay in support of the families of the victims," Michael Yang said. "We need to pray for them."
The gathering also may shed more light on Chai Soua Vang, 36, whose background was unknown to a number of community leaders searching for information on him Monday. The suspect's brother, Sang Vang, 32, said he and his brother came to this country from their native Laos in 1980. Chai Soua Vang is married, has six children and is "a good family man," his brother said. Chai Soua Vang had served in the U.S. Army, is a naturalized citizen and speaks English well.
Sang Vang said he could not believe his older sibling was responsible for Sunday's shootings that killed six hunters and injured two others.
"I don't know what to think," Sang Vang said. "I'm shocked."
The earlier incident involving Chai Soua Vang's alleged use of a weapon occurred while he was living in Minneapolis. He was arrested on Christmas Eve in 2001 after his wife at the time, Say Xiong, told police he had threatened her life while he waved a handgun at her, according to police reports. Three of their children confirmed their mother's account to police, who arrived at 11 p.m. to check on the dispute at 2901 Aldrich Ave. N., a four-unit apartment complex.
Chai Soua Vang told officers he and his wife began arguing when he told her he wanted to separate. As the dispute grew, he told police, he threatened her with the gun. Police seized the unidentified weapon, loaded with a shell in the chamber, from the couple's bedroom.
Chai Soua Vang never faced charges in that incident because his wife refused to cooperate with prosecutors, said officer Ron Reier, Minneapolis police spokesman. In a separate matter, court records from Minneapolis show Chai Soua Vang was charged with possessing 108 crappies, which was 93 over the limit, in April 2001. He pleaded guilty to a petty misdemeanor and paid a fine and fees of $328.
While the police reports on the December 2001 domestic incident indicate Say Xiong was the suspect's wife, on Monday the Associated Press interviewed a woman named Deu Khang, 37, who identified herself as Chai Soua Vang's "cultural" wife. Interviewed at the Wisconsin jail where Chai Sousa Vang was being held, she said she was in shock following the shootings.
"We don't really know what went wrong. We don't know,'' she told the AP.
More recently, St. Paul police were called to Chai Soua Vang's East Side home five times since June 2003, St. Paul police spokesman officer Paul Schnell said. Twice, someone at the house ? on the 800 block of East Fourth Street ? was a victim of a theft and twice they were called on a report of a domestic disturbance. However, police merely advised on the two disturbances and did not write reports, so police have no details, Schnell said.
The other call was on Sept. 15, 2003, to serve a Hennepin County arrest warrant for theft on Xia Yang, then 29, who was at the house. It was not know what Xia Yang's relationship was to Chai Soua Vang, Schnell said.
Neighbors readily conceded the area had more than its share of issues with gunfire, gang activity and drug dealing but did not associate Chai Soua Vang with such problems.
His two-story yellow house is surrounded by a chain-link fence, including a tall chain-link gate with a "no trespassing" sign running across the top of the driveway. St. Paul police helped his family leave the home at 7 p.m. Sunday, Schnell said, at their request.
"This is a bad neighborhood, but you don't expect something like this to go on," said neighbor Jeff Johnson, a carpenter and deer hunter. "It makes deer hunters want to stop going deer hunting. You worry about the person next to you in the trees. Are they there to hunt the deer or are they there to snipe you?"
Charlie Golden-Black, who lives across the street from Chai Soua Vang, said her neighbors were quiet and kept to themselves. She said she pictured him Monday as she often saw him ? leaving his house in a suede jacket and dress pants.
"Shame on us for letting this happen," Golden-Black said. "Maybe there was something we could have said to this man. We have been working diligently to try to turn this neighborhood around. I just can't get over it. It's kind of scary. How can anybody that appears to be fairly normal, clean-cut account for killing (six) people?"
Charlie Golden-Black, who lives across the street from Chai Soua Vang, said her neighbors were quiet and kept to themselves. She said she pictured him Monday as she often saw him ? leaving his house in a suede jacket and dress pants.
"Shame on us for letting this happen," Golden-Black said. "Maybe there was something we could have said to this man. We have been working diligently to try to turn this neighborhood around. I just can't get over it. It's kind of scary. How can anybody that appears to be fairly normal, clean-cut account for killing (six) people?"
Posted on Tue, Nov. 23, 2004
'It makes no sense'
As sixth hunter dies, sheriff offers details in attack, but motive remains unknown
BY TIM NELSON and KEVIN HARTER
Pioneer Press
Updated 12:07 p.m., Tuesday, Nov. 23, 2004
HAYWARD, Wis. ? The scene is as old as humanity itself: A hunter stakes out territory, only to find it claimed by another. Modern deer hunters usually resolve the matter amicably.
But deep in a thick Wisconsin forest on Sunday, for reasons authorities still can't fathom, a St. Paul man who was asked to leave another hunter's deer stand began to do so and then turned and opened fire on one of the landowners and his fellow hunters, killing six and wounding two, authorities said. The suspect had apparently gotten lost earlier that morning and wound up on the private property.
The victims were all from the Rice Lake area of northwestern Wisconsin. The dead were identified as Robert Crotteau, 42; his 20-year-old son, Joey Crotteau; Al Laski, 43; Mark Roidt, 28; Dennis Drew, 55; and Jessica Willers, 27, daughter of Terry Willers, one of the landowners, who was also shot.
Five were killed on Sunday. Drew, who was shot in the abdomen, died early Monday evening at St. Joseph's Hospital in Marshfield, where he had been flown at 5:15 p.m. Monday from Lakeview Medical Center in Rice Lake.
Authorities said Terry Willers was the first one shot, and his daughter and Laski were shot and killed when they came to his aid. As other members of the hunting party ? which numbered 14 or 15 in total ? rushed to the scene from a hunting shack a quarter-mile away, they were picked off, too.
Some of the victims were shot more than once, authorities said.
The suspected assailant was identified as Chai Soua Vang, 36, a St. Paul truck driver. Sawyer County Sheriff James Meier said he was perplexed over why the suspect allegedly opened fire on the other hunters 90 miles northeast of the Twin Cities.
"It makes no sense," the sheriff said. The suspect, he said, "speaks fluent English. He's educated. He's an American citizen."
Chai Soua Vang, who is married and the father of six, will probably have his first court appearance today, Meier said. It will be a probable-cause hearing, where a judge decides whether there is cause to hold him. He has not been charged.
Chai Soua Vang's younger brother arrived in the Sawyer County seat of Hayward on Monday with hopes of getting in to see his jailed sibling. Sang Vang, 32, said his brother was an occasional hunter, and he couldn't believe he could be involved in such a violent outburst.
"I don't know what to think. I'm shocked," said Sang Vang. He said when his mother called him to tell him about his brother's arrest, he thought it was a dream. "I just wanted to wake up. I'm still so very shocked."
Sang Vang said his brother came to this country from their native Laos in 1980. He said Chai Soua Vang was "a good family man," who served in the U.S. Army.
"He's always been a nice brother to me," he said. "I don't know what happened."
A game warden apprehended Chai Soua Vang about five hours after the shooting. He offered no resistance, and Meier said the suspect has "shown a willingness to cooperate."
Asked about the suspect's demeanor, Meier said he was "extremely calm." And what did the sheriff think about that?
"I find it frightening," he replied.
Drew's family issued a statement Monday evening expressing sadness at his death and "requesting privacy as they deal with this very public tragedy."
Drew's brother-in-law, Lauren Hesebeck, 48, was released Monday evening from the Rice Lake hospital after sustaining a gunshot wound to his left shoulder. Terry Willers, 47, was shot in the neck and flown to the Marshfield hospital, where he was in fair condition Monday evening, according to a nursing supervisor.
Dr. Lynn Koob, a surgeon at Lakeview Medical Center, said it appeared that Drew, Hesebeck and Willers had been wounded by a "high-powered weapon" fired from "reasonably close range." When Chai Soua Vang was apprehended, he was carrying an SKS semiautomatic carbine, a rifle that traces its origin to the Soviet Union nearly 60 years ago and also has been mass-produced by the Chinese.
Chai Soua Vang's weapon carried a 20-round clip. Authorities said it was empty when he was taken into custody.
As state and federal investigators converged on the remote area to search for evidence and question witnesses, Meier said there was still much to figure out. But investigators said it appears the series of events that led to the shooting began Sunday morning when Chai Soua Vang ? who had apparently come to the area to hunt with two or three other as-yet-unidentified hunters ? got lost in the thick woods.
'It makes no sense'
As sixth hunter dies, sheriff offers details in attack, but motive remains unknown
BY TIM NELSON and KEVIN HARTER
Pioneer Press
Updated 12:07 p.m., Tuesday, Nov. 23, 2004
HAYWARD, Wis. ? The scene is as old as humanity itself: A hunter stakes out territory, only to find it claimed by another. Modern deer hunters usually resolve the matter amicably.
But deep in a thick Wisconsin forest on Sunday, for reasons authorities still can't fathom, a St. Paul man who was asked to leave another hunter's deer stand began to do so and then turned and opened fire on one of the landowners and his fellow hunters, killing six and wounding two, authorities said. The suspect had apparently gotten lost earlier that morning and wound up on the private property.
The victims were all from the Rice Lake area of northwestern Wisconsin. The dead were identified as Robert Crotteau, 42; his 20-year-old son, Joey Crotteau; Al Laski, 43; Mark Roidt, 28; Dennis Drew, 55; and Jessica Willers, 27, daughter of Terry Willers, one of the landowners, who was also shot.
Five were killed on Sunday. Drew, who was shot in the abdomen, died early Monday evening at St. Joseph's Hospital in Marshfield, where he had been flown at 5:15 p.m. Monday from Lakeview Medical Center in Rice Lake.
Authorities said Terry Willers was the first one shot, and his daughter and Laski were shot and killed when they came to his aid. As other members of the hunting party ? which numbered 14 or 15 in total ? rushed to the scene from a hunting shack a quarter-mile away, they were picked off, too.
Some of the victims were shot more than once, authorities said.
The suspected assailant was identified as Chai Soua Vang, 36, a St. Paul truck driver. Sawyer County Sheriff James Meier said he was perplexed over why the suspect allegedly opened fire on the other hunters 90 miles northeast of the Twin Cities.
"It makes no sense," the sheriff said. The suspect, he said, "speaks fluent English. He's educated. He's an American citizen."
Chai Soua Vang, who is married and the father of six, will probably have his first court appearance today, Meier said. It will be a probable-cause hearing, where a judge decides whether there is cause to hold him. He has not been charged.
Chai Soua Vang's younger brother arrived in the Sawyer County seat of Hayward on Monday with hopes of getting in to see his jailed sibling. Sang Vang, 32, said his brother was an occasional hunter, and he couldn't believe he could be involved in such a violent outburst.
"I don't know what to think. I'm shocked," said Sang Vang. He said when his mother called him to tell him about his brother's arrest, he thought it was a dream. "I just wanted to wake up. I'm still so very shocked."
Sang Vang said his brother came to this country from their native Laos in 1980. He said Chai Soua Vang was "a good family man," who served in the U.S. Army.
"He's always been a nice brother to me," he said. "I don't know what happened."
A game warden apprehended Chai Soua Vang about five hours after the shooting. He offered no resistance, and Meier said the suspect has "shown a willingness to cooperate."
Asked about the suspect's demeanor, Meier said he was "extremely calm." And what did the sheriff think about that?
"I find it frightening," he replied.
Drew's family issued a statement Monday evening expressing sadness at his death and "requesting privacy as they deal with this very public tragedy."
Drew's brother-in-law, Lauren Hesebeck, 48, was released Monday evening from the Rice Lake hospital after sustaining a gunshot wound to his left shoulder. Terry Willers, 47, was shot in the neck and flown to the Marshfield hospital, where he was in fair condition Monday evening, according to a nursing supervisor.
Dr. Lynn Koob, a surgeon at Lakeview Medical Center, said it appeared that Drew, Hesebeck and Willers had been wounded by a "high-powered weapon" fired from "reasonably close range." When Chai Soua Vang was apprehended, he was carrying an SKS semiautomatic carbine, a rifle that traces its origin to the Soviet Union nearly 60 years ago and also has been mass-produced by the Chinese.
Chai Soua Vang's weapon carried a 20-round clip. Authorities said it was empty when he was taken into custody.
As state and federal investigators converged on the remote area to search for evidence and question witnesses, Meier said there was still much to figure out. But investigators said it appears the series of events that led to the shooting began Sunday morning when Chai Soua Vang ? who had apparently come to the area to hunt with two or three other as-yet-unidentified hunters ? got lost in the thick woods.
He happened across some other hunters and asked for directions to public land, but somehow wound up on the private property, a 400-acre plot that authorities said was clearly posted with "No Trespassing" signs. According to authorities, this is what happened next:
Chai Soua Vang had taken up position in a deer stand. Shortly after noon, Willers was returning to a cabin on the property and noticed a stranger in the stand. He radioed those in the cabin on a walkie-talkie and asked if anyone had given someone permission to be in the stand; they told him they hadn't.
With that, Willers approached the stranger and told him he was on private property and asked him to leave. The stranger climbed down and began to walk away; it isn't known what words, if any, were exchanged between the two men.
After walking about 40 yards, Chai Soua Vang began fiddling with his weapon and removed the telescopic sight. Suddenly, he swiveled around and opened fire, wounding Willers. The injured man was able to radio those in the shack and tell them he had been shot.
Willers' daughter and Laski climbed aboard all-terrain vehicles and drove to the spot; neither brought a weapon. As they neared, the gunman opened fire on them, killing both.
Others in the cabin followed, and they were felled, too. In a scene that resembled a battlefield, members of the hunting party braved fire to pull the wounded out of the field of fire.
"The rescuers came under fire," Meier said. "They grabbed who they could and took off in the pickup truck. Some of the deceased were left behind."
It remained unclear Monday whether anyone in the hunting party was armed and able to shoot in self-defense.
Wisconsin requires deer hunters to display their hunting license number on their backs, and one of the party noted the stranger's deer license number and scratched it into the dust of his all-terrain vehicle; another made a mental note of it.
It is believed Chai Soua Vang went back into the woods and again got lost. Two other hunters helped him find his way to a road, and after they realized he was the subject of a manhunt, they took him to a state game warden, who placed him under arrest.
Barron County Sheriff Tom Richie said in Rice Lake on Monday morning that investigators from Sawyer County had been to the hospital to interview the injured men and that authorities from Washburn County and the state's Division of Criminal Investigation also were working on the case. The FBI is involved as well.
On Monday morning, the community of Rice Lake was reeling from the shootings.
The victims of the shooting were "all very well known and respected members of our community," the sheriff said. Hospital officials noted that some of the staff treating the victims were related to hunters in the same party.
"It has been a very hard time," said Koob, the surgeon.
The staff of Drag's Roman Lounge in downtown Rice Lake started passing out snippets of blaze-orange ribbon to diners at the restaurant Monday night to pin on their shirts in memory of the dead hunters.
In nearby Birchwood late Monday afternoon, about 200 people gathered in the community of 518 for a 20-minute candlelight vigil.
The crowd, including many orange-clad deer hunters, cupped the candles to shield them from a cool breeze, while others used mittens to wipe tears.
"We wanted to do something for the families," said Amber Gibson, 20, who, along with her mother and friend, organized the vigil and handed out candles.
While none of the hunters, who were shot about 13 miles east of Birchwood, was a member of the community, the Rev. Paul Oman, of Trinity Lutheran Church, said the community and the region mourn their loss.
After silent prayer, Oman urged the participants to reach out to one another.
"We need to support one another in prayer. We need to listen to one another. We need to assure one another," he said.
After the group sang "Amazing Grace," the Rev. Linda Shearer of Birchwood United Methodist Church said, "Let us pray God's justice be done ? not our vengeance."
One of the gathered, Roger Widiker, 61, of Milwaukee was visibly shaken as he stood with family and friends.
"I've been deer hunting for 50 years and came up Friday night to hunt. I can't imagine something like this happening," he said, shaking his orangehatted head from side to side. "What can cause someone to go off the deep end? ? Those poor people. Those poor families."
Chai Soua Vang had taken up position in a deer stand. Shortly after noon, Willers was returning to a cabin on the property and noticed a stranger in the stand. He radioed those in the cabin on a walkie-talkie and asked if anyone had given someone permission to be in the stand; they told him they hadn't.
With that, Willers approached the stranger and told him he was on private property and asked him to leave. The stranger climbed down and began to walk away; it isn't known what words, if any, were exchanged between the two men.
After walking about 40 yards, Chai Soua Vang began fiddling with his weapon and removed the telescopic sight. Suddenly, he swiveled around and opened fire, wounding Willers. The injured man was able to radio those in the shack and tell them he had been shot.
Willers' daughter and Laski climbed aboard all-terrain vehicles and drove to the spot; neither brought a weapon. As they neared, the gunman opened fire on them, killing both.
Others in the cabin followed, and they were felled, too. In a scene that resembled a battlefield, members of the hunting party braved fire to pull the wounded out of the field of fire.
"The rescuers came under fire," Meier said. "They grabbed who they could and took off in the pickup truck. Some of the deceased were left behind."
It remained unclear Monday whether anyone in the hunting party was armed and able to shoot in self-defense.
Wisconsin requires deer hunters to display their hunting license number on their backs, and one of the party noted the stranger's deer license number and scratched it into the dust of his all-terrain vehicle; another made a mental note of it.
It is believed Chai Soua Vang went back into the woods and again got lost. Two other hunters helped him find his way to a road, and after they realized he was the subject of a manhunt, they took him to a state game warden, who placed him under arrest.
Barron County Sheriff Tom Richie said in Rice Lake on Monday morning that investigators from Sawyer County had been to the hospital to interview the injured men and that authorities from Washburn County and the state's Division of Criminal Investigation also were working on the case. The FBI is involved as well.
On Monday morning, the community of Rice Lake was reeling from the shootings.
The victims of the shooting were "all very well known and respected members of our community," the sheriff said. Hospital officials noted that some of the staff treating the victims were related to hunters in the same party.
"It has been a very hard time," said Koob, the surgeon.
The staff of Drag's Roman Lounge in downtown Rice Lake started passing out snippets of blaze-orange ribbon to diners at the restaurant Monday night to pin on their shirts in memory of the dead hunters.
In nearby Birchwood late Monday afternoon, about 200 people gathered in the community of 518 for a 20-minute candlelight vigil.
The crowd, including many orange-clad deer hunters, cupped the candles to shield them from a cool breeze, while others used mittens to wipe tears.
"We wanted to do something for the families," said Amber Gibson, 20, who, along with her mother and friend, organized the vigil and handed out candles.
While none of the hunters, who were shot about 13 miles east of Birchwood, was a member of the community, the Rev. Paul Oman, of Trinity Lutheran Church, said the community and the region mourn their loss.
After silent prayer, Oman urged the participants to reach out to one another.
"We need to support one another in prayer. We need to listen to one another. We need to assure one another," he said.
After the group sang "Amazing Grace," the Rev. Linda Shearer of Birchwood United Methodist Church said, "Let us pray God's justice be done ? not our vengeance."
One of the gathered, Roger Widiker, 61, of Milwaukee was visibly shaken as he stood with family and friends.
"I've been deer hunting for 50 years and came up Friday night to hunt. I can't imagine something like this happening," he said, shaking his orangehatted head from side to side. "What can cause someone to go off the deep end? ? Those poor people. Those poor families."
Hunters consider Wisconsin one of the nation's top states for deer hunting. And it is big business, attracting hunters to the small towns that dot the thick forests of northern Wisconsin. That business is crammed into a nine-day season for hunters using guns; this year, the season opened on Nov. 20 and closes Nov. 28.
Ned Wolf, administrator of the Lakeview Medical Center, said the Rice Lake hospital had actually been locked down on Sunday night to prevent a crush of well-wishers from bothering the families.
He also released a statement from the families involved: "We are grieving for our friends who were tragically killed yesterday, for their families and our family members in the hospital. Our thoughts and prayers are extended to the other families involved in this tragedy."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Ned Wolf, administrator of the Lakeview Medical Center, said the Rice Lake hospital had actually been locked down on Sunday night to prevent a crush of well-wishers from bothering the families.
He also released a statement from the families involved: "We are grieving for our friends who were tragically killed yesterday, for their families and our family members in the hospital. Our thoughts and prayers are extended to the other families involved in this tragedy."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
this is off topic,and by no means ment to make light of a most tragic and disturbing incident.but i could not help but think of the other most bizzare murderer in wisc.his name was ed gein in the late 50's many of us in upper midwest grew up with the joke or truth"ed's neighbor's enjoyed the deer meat they recieved from him"
scott k.o.d picture please,maybe in new thread so we don't get away from seriousness of this thread.
scott k.o.d picture please,maybe in new thread so we don't get away from seriousness of this thread.
They just said he said he was fired at first. His age is correct at 36. He was in violation of a bunch of Wisconsin laws, even before the killing started.
i do not believe any hunter would shoot for trespassing.i do not care what may have been said,no reason to kill innocent unarmed people.
wish we still had fireing squad if this man guielty!
wish we still had fireing squad if this man guielty!
dogfish
I was just going to post one picture but there is alot of info on this nutball.
I will start a thread on this nut.
I was just going to post one picture but there is alot of info on this nutball.
I will start a thread on this nut.
