Five deerhunters killed in shootout

Suzanne Goldenberg in Washington
Tuesday November 23, 2004
The Guardian

A deerhunter went on a rampage in north-western Wisconsin, shooting dead five people and wounding three others, apparently in a dispute over a hunting spot on the opening day of the US deerhunting season.

Last night two of the wounded were critically ill in hospital.

Police officials said yesterday that the carnage had erupted after hunters returned to their cabin and saw an unknown gunman in what they considered their tree stand, or hide.

Although it was unclear who opened fire first, police said the hunters had been wounded and radioed to friends a quarter of a mile away for help. When the friends came, they were also shot.

A 36-year-old man was arrested Sunday afternoon when he came out of the woods after the shootings. He was named as Chai Vang, from St Paul, Minnesota.

The victims were part of a larger group hunting near a rural cabin on private land in Sawyer County in northwestern Wisconsin.

One hunter spotted someone in their tree stand, and he and several others approached the man and asked him to leave, said Sawyer County Sheriff James Meier. The man allegedly got down and was walking away, when "for some apparent reason he turned and opened fire," he said.

One hunter radioed for help, and more people were shot as they arrived on all-terrain vehicles to rescue the first group, authorities said. Someone wrote down the suspect's hunting licence number, which hunters wear on their clothing, by tracing it on a dirty vehicle.

Early reports said the eight dead and wounded had only one gun between them. Bodies were strewn for 100 metres. The dead include a woman, and a father and his 20-year-old son. All were from north-west Wisconsin.

The suspect was arrested when he emerged from the woods and a Department of Natural Resources officer recognised the deer licence number on his back from a description given by one of the victims.

Wisconsin issued more than 600,000 licences for the nine-day season this year. Shooting deer is a family affair, and often enthusiasts have been hunting together for years. Using another hunter's stand is viewed as a serious breach of etiquette.