Crandon, Wis. – An off-duty sheriff’s deputy went on a shooting rampage early Sunday at a home where seven young people had gathered for pizza and movies, killing six and critically injuring the 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 and part time as a Crandon police officer, said Police Chief John Dennee.
Three of the victims were students at the small town’s high school, and three were recent graduates, a school official said. The gunman may have graduated from the same school.
Peterson was not working at the time of the shooting, Sheriff Keith Van Cleve said.
The survivor was hospitalized in critical condition, and a Crandon police officer who fired back was treated and released.
Gary Bradley, mayor of the city of about 2,000, said earlier Sunday that a sniper killed the suspect, but Van Cleve would not confirm that officers shot the suspect.
The circumstances of the shooting were hazy Sunday, and it wasn’t immediately clear what the gunman’s motive was, but the mother of a 14-year-old victim said the suspect may have been a jealous boyfriend.
“It was a pizza-and-movie party,” Dennee said.
Crandon Superintendent Richard Peters did not know whether Peterson had graduated from the 300-student high school. But Crandon resident Karly Johnson, 16, said 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.”
One of the dead was 14-year-old Lindsey Stahl, said her mother, Jenny Stahl, 39. She said her daughter called her Saturday night and asked whether she could sleep over at a friend’s house. Jenny Stahl agreed.
“I’m waiting for somebody to wake me up right now. This is a bad, bad dream,” she said. “All I heard, it was a jealous boyfriend and he went berserk. He took them all out.”
A second victim was Bradley Schultz, 20, 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.”
The Crandon School District called off classes for today.
The community about 225 miles north of Milwaukee in an area known for logging and outdoor activities is facing a trying time but is pulling together, Bradley said.
“We are a strong community. We always have been,” he said. “This is agonizing, but we will prevail.”
