Nov. 22, 2004
By JOSHUA FREED
CNN
Photo: Emergency personnel gather near the scene in northwestern Wisconsin where hunters' dispute over tree stand erupted in a series of shootings that left 5 dead and 3 injured.
Sheriff's deputies are investigating the killings of five hunters Sunday in northwest Wisconsin -- bloodshed apparently sparked by a dispute over a hunting spot. A suspect has been arrested.
"This is completely nuts," said Chief Deputy Tim Zeigle of the Sawyer County Sheriff's Department. "Why? I mean, five people dead because somebody was trespassing on property. It makes no sense."
Three others were wounded, said Julie Veness, an emergency medical technician in Exeland, Wisconsin.
Saturday marked the opening of the nine-day deer season, and Veness said the shootings appeared to stem from a dispute over a deer stand -- an elevated position from which hunters can target deer.
"Apparently, the person was asked to leave and get out of his deer stand, and he didn't take it very well and he fired away at them," she said.
Photo: This booking photo provided by the Sawyer County (Wis.) Sheriff's Department shows Chai Vang on Sunday, Nov. 21, 2004, at the Sawyer County Sheriff's Department in Hayward, Wis. A dispute among deer hunters over a tree stand in northwestern Wisconsin erupted Sunday in a series of shootings that left five people dead and three injured, officials said. The alleged gunman was arrested at about 5:15 p.m. Sunday at the Rusk and Sawyer County line, according to Sawyer County sheriff's officials. Jake Hodgkinson, a deputy at the county jail, identified the suspect as Vang but would give no additional details. Several news organizations in Minneapolis-St. Paul reported the suspect was 36-years-old and from St. Paul. (AP Photo/Sawyer County Sheriff's Department via KSTP-TV)
The suspect apparently got lost in the woods after the rampage. He was led out by a pair of hunters who were not aware of the shootings, according to Zeigle.
Photo: A unidentified man talks with a police officer near the site where five people were shot to death Sunday, Nov. 21, 2004, near Birchwood, Wis. A dispute among deer hunters over a tree stand in northwestern Wisconsin erupted Sunday in a series of shootings that left five people dead and three injured, officials said. The alleged gunman, a man from the Twin Cities area, was arrested at about 5:15 p.m. Sunday at the Rusk and Sawyer County line, according to Sawyer County sheriff's officials. (AP Photo/Jim Mone)
"We were very thankful to take him into custody. No one else got hurt," Zeigle said. "When he was taken into custody, his gun was empty."
The other two -- identified by relatives as Denny Drew and Lauren Hesebeck -- were recovering from surgery at Lakeview. Drew was in serious condition, while Hesebeck was listed in fair condition, their families said in a statement issued Sunday night.
"Our families certainly appreciate the thoughts and prayers of this close-knit community, and encourage you to think and pray for the other families involved," the statement said.
Veness said the killings have shocked Exeland, a village of 219 people about 135 miles northeast of Minneapolis.
"It just doesn't happen in this neck of the woods," she said. "We don't expect any of this to happen."
http://www.cnn.com/2004/US/11/22/hunters.slain/index.html