Friend: Wis. Shooter Angry After Taunting

The off-duty sheriff's deputy who shot six people at a pizza party told a friend he had gone to his ex-girlfriend's house hoping to patch up their relationship.

Tyler Peterson reportedly said he lost control when they got into an argument and her friends began calling him a "worthless pig."

"He was just very remorseful about what happened," Mike Kegley told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

He said the 20-year-old Peterson came to his door about five hours after the rampage early Sunday and calmly told him what happened.

"He wasn't running around crazy or anything. He was very, very sorry for what he did," Kegley told the newspaper, adding he gave Peterson coffee and food and later made repeated calls to 911. Kegley also said his family coaxed Peterson into giving up his assault rifle, but he kept a pistol in the back of his shirt.

Kegley wouldn't comment when reached by The Associated Press Monday. "I ain't talking no more," he told The AP when contacted again Monday evening.

Police declined to provide details of the argument that preceded the shooting but said Peterson had stormed out of the party, retrieved an AR-15 rifle from his vehicle and burst back into the house firing 30 shots that killed all but one of the people at the party.

"We had no idea, obviously, that anything like this would ever occur," Crandon Police Chief John Dennee told reporters Monday.

Peterson, a deputy and part-time Crandon police officer, later died after what authorities said was an exchange of gunfire with law enforcement officers.

Peterson apparently shot himself three times, twice under the chin, with the last shot hitting him in the right side of the head, the state attorney general, J.B. Van Hollen, said Tuesday. He was also shot once in the left biceps from a distance.

Kegley said his family had tried to coax Peterson into surrendering, but he was shot after getting out of his truck and walking off toward the woods around 2 p.m. Sunday - about nine hours after the shootings at the party.

Forest County Sheriff Keith Van Cleve said questions about what happened from the time of the shootings to when Peterson was shot would be answered at an afternoon news conference. Officers treated it as a hostage situation because Dennee had talked with Peterson by telephone and they did not want to rush in, he said.

The autopsy on Peterson was finished but he would not discuss the findings before the news conference.

District Attorney Leon Stenz said he talked with Peterson by telephone for five or 10 minutes right before Peterson was killed, as they tried unsuccessfully to find a way for Peterson to turn himself in.

Peterson was seemed calm and said he had talked to an attorney, but the two didn't talk about what had happened at the house, he said.

"He didn't call to confess," Stenz said.

Moments later, Peterson ran toward a wooded area where he was shot, he said.

Stenz said he knew Peterson quite well because he handled several cases with him.

"He always seemed to be level-headed and fine during those meetings. I think he wanted to talk to me because he knows I'm fair," Stenz said.

The rampage raised questions in the remote northern Wisconsin community of 2,000 of whether Peterson was qualified for his law enforcement positions.

Police acknowledged Peterson received no psychological screening before being hired Sept. 11, 2006. His yearlong probation ended last month.

"No person that I've ever known at 20 years old was responsible enough to be a police officer," said Steve Bocek, of Oak Creek, whose 20-year-old nephew Bradley Schultz was killed. "It's unbelievable. You don't have the mind to be a police officer. It takes a lot."

But Crandon City Attorney Lindsay Erickson said age doesn't matter as long as officers do their jobs well. Peterson testified for her in several cases. He wrote good reports and was "true to his job," she said.

"From what I saw of him, I didn't see any warning signs or red flags," Erickson said.

Dr. Phil Trompetter, a police psychologist in Modesto, Calif., estimated at least 40 states require psychological testing of prospective officers.

"Wisconsin must be in a very small minority," he said.

The Wisconsin Department of Justice Law Enforcement Standards Board requires only that applicants be free of emotional or mental conditions that might hinder them in their duties. It does not say how that is determined.

No formal national standards exist for hiring police, although individual states are adopting requirements such as mandatory psychological tests, said Craig Zendzian, author of several guidebooks for police applicants.

In Minnesota, police officers must be licensed by the state Board of Peace Officer Standards and Training, which includes an evaluation by a licensed psychologist.

The six young people who died were either students or graduates of Crandon High School, where Peterson also had graduated.

They were at the house to share pizza and watch movies during the school's homecoming weekend.

Classes were canceled Monday, and many teens went to a church to meet with counselors. Classes were scheduled to resume on Wednesday.

The other victims were identified as Jordanne Murray, 18, Peterson's ex-girlfriend; Katrina McCorkle, 18; Lianna Thomas, 18; Aaron Smith, 20; and Lindsey Stahl, 14.

Autopsy results for those who died were not available Monday.

The lone survivor, Charlie Neitzel, 21, of Pickerel, was still in serious condition but recovering at a hospital. He was scheduled for surgery Tuesday afternoon to remove debris from his wounds, St. Joseph's Hospital spokeswoman Karla David said.

Neitzel's father, Charles, said his son was a tough young adult and doing well. His family was still a bit stunned by what had happened.

"It hasn't sunk in to the immediate family," Charles Neitzel said. "Every day, you feel a little bit more emotion come on."

Pastor Bill Farr read a statement from Peterson's family in which relatives expressed their shock and sorrow.

"Our hearts go out to the victims, their families and their friends. We are grieving for your losses. We feel a tremendous amount of guilt and shame for the acts Tyler committed," it said.

It continued: "We may never receive the answers we all seek. Like those close to Tyler we are in shock and disbelief that he would do such terrible things. This was not the Tyler we knew and loved."