Five dead following hunters' dispute
ONE MAN ARRESTED IN WISCONSIN CLASH
[size=-1]By Kevin Harter and Tom Majeski[/size]
[size=-1]Knight Ridder[/size]
ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Five people were fatally shot and three others seriously wounded Sunday by a deer hunter from St. Paul after he was told to leave a deer stand on private land in northwest Wisconsin, officials said.
The alleged gunman, Chai Vang, was arrested Sunday afternoon at the line between Rusk and Sawyer counties, according to Sawyer County Chief Deputy Tim Zeigle.
When Vang was arrested, he was carrying a high-powered SKS assault rifle and was out of ammunition, Zeigle said.
``Information is sketchy at this time,'' Zeigle said Sunday evening. ``Many of the people we need to talk to are in the operating room.''
The shootings occurred near a deer shack on heavily wooded land described as prime hunting territory. Zeigle said two members of the hunting party were returning to their shack when they spotted a hunter sitting in one of their deer stands. They told him that he was on private property and asked him to leave.
Zeigle said a confrontation erupted and the man opened fire with his assault rifle.
One of the injured hunters used his walkie-talkie to alert his companions in the hunting shack that he had been shot, Zeigle said. When the other hunters emerged from the shack, the shooter began firing at them as well, he said.
Zeigle said members of the hunting party may have returned fire, ``but this has not been confirmed.''
The three wounded were taken to hospitals in Marshfield and Rice Lake, where officials said one was in critical condition, one was in serious condition and one was listed as fair.
Wisconsin's deer gun hunting season started Saturday and lasts nine days.
ONE MAN ARRESTED IN WISCONSIN CLASH
[size=-1]By Kevin Harter and Tom Majeski[/size]
[size=-1]Knight Ridder[/size]
ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Five people were fatally shot and three others seriously wounded Sunday by a deer hunter from St. Paul after he was told to leave a deer stand on private land in northwest Wisconsin, officials said.
The alleged gunman, Chai Vang, was arrested Sunday afternoon at the line between Rusk and Sawyer counties, according to Sawyer County Chief Deputy Tim Zeigle.
When Vang was arrested, he was carrying a high-powered SKS assault rifle and was out of ammunition, Zeigle said.
``Information is sketchy at this time,'' Zeigle said Sunday evening. ``Many of the people we need to talk to are in the operating room.''
The shootings occurred near a deer shack on heavily wooded land described as prime hunting territory. Zeigle said two members of the hunting party were returning to their shack when they spotted a hunter sitting in one of their deer stands. They told him that he was on private property and asked him to leave.
Zeigle said a confrontation erupted and the man opened fire with his assault rifle.
One of the injured hunters used his walkie-talkie to alert his companions in the hunting shack that he had been shot, Zeigle said. When the other hunters emerged from the shack, the shooter began firing at them as well, he said.
Zeigle said members of the hunting party may have returned fire, ``but this has not been confirmed.''
The three wounded were taken to hospitals in Marshfield and Rice Lake, where officials said one was in critical condition, one was in serious condition and one was listed as fair.
Wisconsin's deer gun hunting season started Saturday and lasts nine days.
