Homecoming Pizza Party Hit By Murder Spree
Police: Off-Duty Officer Killed Six, Before Being Shot To Death; Wisconsin Town In Shock
-
-
This undated photo taken from the Crandon High School yearbook and made available by WJFW-TV in Rhinelander, Wis. shows Tyler Peterson. Peterson, an off-duty sheriff's deputy went on a shooting rampage early Sunday Oct. 7, 2007 at a home where seven young people had gathered for pizza and movies, killing six and critically injuring the other before authorities took him down, officials said. (AP Photo/WJFW-TV)
-
Police officials, left, stand near police tape as a man believed to be Tyler Peterson lies on the ground, Sunday, Oct. 7, 2007, near Crandon, Wis. Peterson, an off-duty sheriff's deputy went on a shooting rampage early Sunday in northern Wisconsin, killing six people and injuring a seventh before authorities fatally shot him, officials said. (AP Photo/Mark Was)
-
Neighbors hug near where a law enforcement employee went on a shooting rampage Sunday, Oct. 7, 2007, in Crandon, Wis., killing six people and injuring a seventh before authorities fatally shot him, officials said. The gunman, Tyler Peterson, was 20 years old and worked full-time as a Forest County deputy sheriff and part-time as a Crandon police officer, said Police Chief John Dennee. (AP)
-
-
Play CBS Video Video Policeman Kills Six After breaking up with his girlfriend, a police officer in a small town in Wisconsin went on a shooting rampage, killing her and five others. Randall Pinkston reports.
-
Interactive Crime Beat Statistics and specifics on crime in America.
Peterson was shot to death after opening fire early Sunday on his ex-girlfriend and a group of friends who had gathered for pizza and movies on their high school's homecoming weekend.
Peterson was off-duty from his full-time job as a Forest County deputy sheriff; he also was a part-time Crandon police officer.
Another teen was critically wounded.
The victims include Peterson's reported former longtime sweetheart Jordanne Murray, 18, Katrina McCorkle, 18, Leanna Thomas, 18, Bradley Schultz, 20, Aaron Smith, (age not available)and Lindsey Stahl, 14, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Charlie Nietzel, 19, of the neighboring town of Pickerel was wounded. He was in critical condition late Sunday at a local hospital.
Peterson would later end up dead, shot by the Crandon SWAT team.
David Franz, 36, who lives with his wife two houses from the duplex where the shooting occurred, said it was hard to accept that someone in law enforcement was the gunman.
"The first statement we said to each other was, how did he get through the system?" Franz said. "How do they know somebody's background, especially that young? It is disturbing, to say the least."
Sheriff Keith Van Cleve said he would meet with state Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen on Monday morning to discuss the case.
Crandon Police Chief John Dennee said it would be handled by the state Department of Criminal Investigation because the suspect was a deputy and officer.
Peterson was killed Sunday afternoon, eight miles north of Crandon in the rural town of Argonne, Dennee said.
Crandon mayor Gary Bradley said Sunday that a sniper killed the suspect, but Van Cleve would not confirm that officers shot him.
Bradley expressed anger and frustration at the state's handling of the case, complaining about a lack of information for officials and families and the length of time being taken in removing the bodies from the home, reports the Sentinel.
"Man, they paralyzed this town," he said.
The gunman's motive was unclear, but the mother of a 14-year-old victim, Lindsey Stahl, said the suspect may have been a jealous boyfriend.
"I'm waiting for somebody to wake me up right now. This is a bad, bad dream," said Jenny Stahl. "All I heard it was a jealous boyfriend and he went berserk. He took them all out."
Dennee declined comment on whether Peterson had a romantic relationship with any of the victims.
The white, two-story duplex was about a block from downtown Crandon, a town of about 2,000 located 225 miles north of Milwaukee in an area known for logging and outdoor activities. The victims had gathered for what Dennee described as "a pizza and movie party."
Three of the victims were Crandon High School students, said school Superintendent Richard Peters, and the other three had graduated within the past three years.
"There is probably nobody in Crandon who is not affected by this," Peters said, adding that students "are going to wake up in shock and disbelief and a lot of pain."
Peters did not know whether Peterson had graduated from the 300-student school. But Crandon resident Karly Johnson, 16, said that she knew the gunman and that he had helped her in a tech education class.
"He graduated with my brother," she said. "He was nice. He was an average guy. Normal. You wouldn't think he could do that."
The Crandon School District called off classes Monday.
One victim, 20-year-old Bradley Schultz, was a third-year student at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee who was home to visit his friends, said his aunt, Sharon Pisarek.
"We still don't have many details, but from what they've told us, there was a girl next to him and he was covering her, protecting her," she said, sobbing. "He was loved by everybody. He was everybody's son. Senseless."
David Franz's wife, Marci, said she was awakened by the gunshots.
"I heard probably five or six shots, a short pause and then five or six more," she said. "I wasn't sure if it was gunfire initially. I thought some kids were messing around and hitting a nearby metal building."
Then she heard eight louder shots and tires squealing, she said.
"I was just about to get up and call it in, and I heard sirens," she said. "There's never been a tragedy like this here. There's been individual incidents, but nothing of this magnitude."
© MMVII, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
More From U.S.
Best-selling author Mitch Albom on his first nonfiction work since "Tuesdays with Morrie."
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- next
See all 100 CommentsIf this had happened earlier I wouldn''t be writing this message.
If anyone wants to second guess anything I just said, feel free to. First think of your proximity to this tragic incident and the damage it has caused to your life. I live 12 miles from Crandon. How many of the victims do you think I knew!
as for "nroch1" - how is this a gun control issue??? He was a cop. Are we now suppose to disarm our police officers too? Regardless, the problem is not gun control. Guns dont take action, people do. Guns were created by people for the purpose of killing. The problem is people, not guns. And the world will remain this way until Christ returns. Wake up world!!!
It''''s on the TV.
It''''s on your TV.
Turn off your TV.
Can you say brainwashing?
It''''s a non-stop disco.
Posted by zootallures2 at 09:35 PM : Oct 08, 2007
Its on the tv because people want it or the advertisers wouldn''t be making a killing. What does that tell you ?
The sad part is a 20 year old officer can''t even buy a beer, but can give someone a DUI. This is clearly ridiculous especially since the 20 year old cop took a number of lives with him.
I was at my office and a number of people are divided on the matter. Some say that the officer "committed a crime of passion" whereas I say the County made a huge error in hiring a person SO young, and with no psychological evaluation.
The sick part is the government feels that this kind of hiring is OK. However Wisconsin will need to pull a good explanation out of their rear-end to justify the hiring.
Can a 20 year old be an officer? In Chicago that would not even happen, and would make him a crossing guard before making such a foolish move.
I think Forest County Attorney''s should absorb some blame for poor hiring tactics.
Just me...
Choking chicks and SODOMY!
The kinda sh*t thats on your TV!
It''s on the TV.
It''s on your TV.
Turn off your TV.
Can you say brainwashing?
It''s a non-stop disco.
You missed my point, Slim. It wasn''t that feminism is a failure. My point is that gains by women have been undercut by the media''s focus on women as s*x toys. This objectification of women supports some men''s views of women as possessions and trophies rather than partners whose right to self-determination needs to be respected.
The idea of women as nothing but homemakers is a relatively recent phenomenon associated with the industrial revolution. When most of the U.S. population were engaged in farming, women and men (and children) worked side-by-side.
My comments also had a narrow focus, but they have a larger application: as a society, the concept of respect for others seems to be losing ground. Courteous people are becoming an endangered species, and many people seem to feel entitled to act out their anger and frustration without regard to the safety, rights, and feelings of others.
BTW, I also object to the objectification of men by some women. You can''t expect respect if you don''t give it.
Posted by didntinhale at 08:13 AM : Oct 08, 2007
What kind of cereal did he kill? Post Toasties?
A person who commits a series of murders is a serial killer. This person was a mass murderer: multiple murders at one event.
It''s hardly surprising that people who chose law enforcement are people who seek control. It is a testament to their characters that most of them exercise restraint and good judgment in the performance of their duties.
Posted by tuckerndfw at 07:44 AM : Oct 08, 2007
As usual, the extremists get the publicity. For most feminists the goal was equality OF OPPORTUNITY. We appreciate the unique qualities of each gender, but believe those differences don''t justify gender discrimination in college admissions, career goals and hiring practices. We acknowledge there are jobs at which men are more likely to be successful than women, and vice versa.
Now the number of boys continuing on to college is dropping. I''m equally concerned about that trend. I deplore commercials and "comedies" that protray men as stupid boors. Discrimination based on gender, ethnicity, age, or physical characteristics (handicaps, weight, "beauty", etc.) squanders human potential and we all lose as a result.
As for crimes by gender, U.S. Department of Justice statistics show 1.3 million women and .8 million men experience domestic violence annually. Homicides committed by females have declined from 1975 levels, while male perpetrated homicides are little changed. USDJ statistics also show men committed 93.3% of felony murders and 91.2% of gun homicides--hardly the parity you suggest. The exceptions grab the headlines.
You don''t need Blackwater, These kids are being "trained" in our school (yards) systems.
And I do believe that the women''s movement has been a detriment to our society.
.................................................
Another feminist has come to realization that the womans movement has been a complete, and utter disaster for this country. If women stayed home to raise their kids, we might not have these stories. If you want a career, don''t have kids. Simple as that!
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- next
See all 100 Comments