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6th person dies after killing spree

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Also by Ryan Masse:

by Ryan Masse

Tuesday, November 23, 2004

New details emerged Monday surrounding the shocking killing of a group of hunters in remote Sawyer County in northwestern Wisconsin.

Authorities identified the suspect, Chai Soua Vang, a 36-year-old from St. Paul, Minn., as the culprit of the multiple homicides. Police apprehended Vang around 5 p.m. Sunday, hours after he allegedly shot and killed five hunters and seriously injured three others upon being told to leave a tree stand on private property.

One of the three survivors, Denny Drew, died late Monday, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported. Lauren Hesebeck was held at Lakeview Medical Center in Rice Lake in stable condition with a single gunshot wound.

The third, Terry Willers, suffered more serious injuries and was transported to the Marshfield Clinic in Marshfield, Wis. Hospital spokesperson Carla David said Willers was in serious but stable condition.

Officials, hunters react

Each of the eight victims hailed from Barron County, an area directly southwest of Sawyer County.

Barron County Sheriff Thomas Richie said the community is in a “state of mourning.”

“It’s hit the county hard,” Richie said. “It’s really made people think, asking how such a thing [could] happen, and I don’t think there’s any answers.”

In Rice Lake, with a population of 8,312 and the largest city in the county, the Dairy State Bank established a fund for donations Monday in remembrance of the victims. Pam Skowzgird, spokesperson for the bank, said the Rice Lake Hunters Survivors and Victims Fund received “quite a bit of support” just hours after being started.

Hunters expressed amazement that such an event could take place in the sparsely populated portion of the state. Third-year University of Wisconsin pharmacy student and hunter Brandon Ordway was shocked to find out so many people had been killed in a community nearby his hometown of Cumberland.

“Occasionally you hear about someone falling off a tree stand or something, but this was extraordinary,” said Ordway, who hunts in an area 30 miles away from the scene of Sunday’s killing spree.

Still, Ordway said the incident would not deter him from hunting in the future.

“It will definitely not stop me. I think people realize it was one of those weird things that happens and nobody knows why.”

Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Northern Region Warden Mike Bartz said the shooting stood in contrast with what had been a remarkably safe pastime in recent years. And while a few fatalities occur each year in Wisconsin in connection with the sport, a homicide like what happened in Sawyer County is completely unprecedented, he said.

“Typically we are involved in shooting accidents that are fatal, and those are tragic, but the word accident is usually in there someplace,” Bartz said. “This was one of those things where what should have been a great tradition was just shattered.”

Weapon

The gun Vang allegedly used in the murders, an SKS semi-automatic assault rifle, has gained popularity among hunters in recent years, according to Bartz.

“This particular model is relatively cheap — it’s easy to get ammunition and we’re seeing it more and more in the last 10 years,” he said.

Bartz noted the gun’s low recoil also makes it a popular choice for hunters.

Gun-control advocacy groups were quick to renew pleas for an assault-rifle ban in the wake of Sunday’s slayings. Jeri Bonavia, executive director of the Wisconsin Anti-Violence Effort, touted a proposal from state Rep. Christine Sinicki, D-Milwaukee, calling for a statewide ban on such guns.

“A shooting like this, unfortunately, does bring the issue back into the limelight,” Bonavia said.

A 10-year federal ban on certain semi-automatic assault rifles expired in September of this year. However, the SKS Vang used was not among the guns prohibited under the ban.

Bonavia said the incident should influence the state Legislature to act in the interests of those opposed to the prevalence of semi-automatics.

“The vast majority of gun owners, including hunters, are in favor of a ban, so the incentive is there to compel lawmakers to enact a ban at state level,” she said.

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Anonymous (November 23, 2004 @ 6:36pm):

I would like to start by saying im deeply sorry and feel horible for what happened to those people and there family this is not supost to happen. I would like to say its not the gun it's the user. A 12 gauge shot gun could have done the same amount of damage the way he did it. A 30/30 lever action could have done the same. If we start baninng semi-auto rifiles what's next ban all of then. We will all haft to get bolt action ones now. Then will haft to ban all auto shot guns. 99.9 precent of people don't use these gums to harm people at all. once we start banning semi-auto guns they won't stop.

Anonymous (November 23, 2004 @ 10:35pm):

Being a hunter and talking to many more hunters, we are not, I repeat NOT in favor of banning semi automatic guns. What we want, is when a gun is used as a weapon against another person, the PERSON USING THE gun as said weapon to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. It was not the gun doing the hideous heinous crime but the person PULLING THE TRIGER. Also, this looks like a hate crime. If the gunman was white and the victims were Asian or another ethnic group it would be called a hate crime. But because this was reversed and the shooter was a minority and the victims were not a minority it's called a shooting and the gun is to blame.
Jeri Bonavia, and state Rep. Christine Sinicki, D-Milwaukee, are once again on the wrong side calling for a statewide ban on such guns. We should ban the trial lawyers that will represent the animal that was pulling the trigger and would blame a gun on such a crime. I could only hope that the voters will look at Rep. Christine Sinicki in the next election and vote in a thinking person into her current position. For her to think a gun committed this crime or a law would have prevented it is utterly stupid.

Mr. Hunter (November 23, 2004 @ 10:36pm):

Anonymous (November 23, 2004 @ 11:34pm):

In this case "the person PULLING THE TRIGER" had modified the gun with a 20 round magazine. You are definitely right about the "hate crime" aspect - but only white people were killed so it's just a regular crime.

Anonymous (November 24, 2004 @ 12:28am):

That's not true. Hate crimes go both ways--the Supreme Court case in which hate crime legislation was upheld as constitutional had black defendants.

"We should ban the lawyers..." Yeah, that's solid thinking. No defense lawyers, for anyone!

"Once they start banning..." I don't see a slippery slope here. The majority of Americans have no interest in banning shotguns, etc. I'm not sure why someone needs a semiautomatic to hunt deer, but given how terrified Democrats are of this issue, you can bet that a comprehensive gun ban is DOA.

Anonymous (November 24, 2004 @ 7:48am):

I am convinced that 50% of the people in this city could not accurately define "semiautomatic".

Anonymous (November 24, 2004 @ 6:35pm):

My condolences to the family members, this certainly is a terrible tragedy.

However, despite what the Wisconsin Anti-Violence Effort would like you to think, the "Assault Weapon Ban" would have done nothing to prevent this crime.

1) the rifle was not on the list of weapons banned
2) the guy was from MN, so a WI ban that they are pushing wouldn't do anything to stop this either

and finally, there they are again, throwing around the term "assault rifle." The real definition of an "assault rifle" is a select fire (auto or burst fire) military rifle. The AWB definition is one with a pistol grip, bayonet lug, flash hider, etc etc

Now an SKS is an "assault rifle." These people need to stick with one definition instead of changing it as it best suits their interests.

If the guy had used a single shot muzzle loader to kill 6 people, they would have been calling it an "assault rifle."

If this guy is truly guilty, he should fry. However, taking away SKS rifles which are used by thousands of hunters will not solve any problems.

-Adrian Andrijasevic
Secretary, SAFER
UW-Madison Gun Club
http://safer.rso.wisc.edu

Anonymous (November 24, 2004 @ 9:31pm):

"2) the guy was from MN, so a WI ban that they are pushing wouldn't do anything to stop this either"

Not true. The ban would apply to all such weapons in the State of Wisconsin, regardless of where the owners of the weapons live. The rest of your post makes a lot of sense, though.

Anonymous (November 25, 2004 @ 11:20am):

Our hearts and prayers go out to the victims and their family's. Lets hope that our elected officials focus on the criminal and not the tool used to commit this horrific event. Fellow hunters and countrymen from Rhode Island