Tyler Peterson

UPDATE, October 11:

911 calls released.

Listen.
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NEW, from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

Tyler Peterson went to his ex-girlfriend's house in Crandon Saturday with the hope of patching up their relationship, but instead got in a fight with her. And when other people at the house started calling him a "worthless pig" he lost control.

That's what 20-year-old Peterson told lifelong family friend Mike Kegley about five hours after authorities say Peterson killed six young people at the Crandon house, Kegley said Monday morning.

Peterson showed up at Kegley's home a few miles north of Crandon at about 7:30 a.m. Sunday and told his wife and their son - Peterson's friend since childhood - what happened.

The family quietly called 911.

The Kegleys coaxed Peterson, a Forest County sheriff's deputy and part-time Crandon police officer, into handing over his work-issued assault rifle - the weapon he said he had used in the slayings - and tried to calmly talk him into turning himself in.

Peterson said he wanted to talk to his mom and his grandmother and left the house, promising to return.

About an hour later Peterson came back. The Kegleys again called 911.

"We gave him some coffee and fed him," Kegley said. "He wasn't running around crazy or anything. He was very, very sorry for what he did."

Peterson promised the Kegleys they were not in any danger but he refused to give up his pistol that he had tucked in the back of his shirt, Kegley said.

After about another hour or so, Kegley said he left his house to find out where the police were. His wife followed him a shot time later. Their son refused to leave.

Read more.
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This undated photo taken from the Crandon High School yearbook and made available by WJFW-TV in Rhinelander, Wis. shows Tyler Peterson. (AP Photo/WJFW-TV)

What can you say about the bloodbath in Crandon?

From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

Nothing seemed out of the ordinary Saturday night when Tyler Peterson met up with a bunch of friends in a parking lot behind a Crandon bank.

They talked about hunting, what to do later that night. Typical stuff. That was it. It was 8:30 p.m.

But before the sun would rise, Peterson, a 20-year-old, off-duty Forest County sheriff's deputy and part-time City of Crandon police officer, would be suspected of storming into his ex-girlfriend's house and killing her and five other young people at a party, including two of his best childhood buddies.

Another teen was critically wounded.

Peterson would later end up dead, shot by the Crandon SWAT team.

"He must have just snapped," said a close friend who had known Peterson since they were in kindergarten and talked to him in the parking lot Saturday night. "He seemed fine (at 8:30 p.m.)."

Authorities in Crandon, about 180 miles north of Milwaukee, did not release details of the killings or the names of the victims Sunday, but the Journal Sentinel learned from interviews with families and friends that the following were killed:

• Jordanne Murray, 18, Peterson's former longtime sweetheart, who graduated from Crandon High School in 2006.

• Katrina McCorkle, an 18-year-old senior at Crandon High.

• Leanna Thomas, also an 18-year-old senior at Crandon.

• Bradley Schultz, 20, a 2005 graduate of Crandon and a student at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee majoring in criminal justice.

• Aaron Smith, called "Chunk" by his friends, also a 2005 graduate of Crandon. His age was not available.

• Lindsey Stahl, 14, a freshman at Crandon.

Charlie Nietzel, 19, of the neighboring town of Pickerel was wounded. He was in critical condition late Sunday at St. Joseph's Hospital in Marshfield.

Because a local law enforcement officer was involved, the investigation is being handled by the state Department of Criminal Investigation. Officials would not disclose any information Sunday other than to say authorities responded to a report of shots fired at 2:47 a.m., and that six people and the killer were dead.

Three-term Crandon Mayor Gary 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.

...Bradley confirmed that Peterson was shot and killed by the Crandon SWAT team Sunday afternoon, hours after the early morning shootings.

...Although few in Crandon knew exactly what happened in Murray's home, in a town where the population barely pushes 2,000, seemingly everyone knew the victims or the shooter.

Fay Statezny has known the Petersons and the families of several of the other victims for 20 years or more. Statezny said Tyler Peterson was "a normal kid" who liked to hunt and fish and loved the outdoors.

He had grown up with Smith and Schultz, and they were all very close friends.

"We would all go mud-running and ice fishing," said Peterson's longtime friend from kindergarten, who didn't want his name published because of the sensitivity of the situation.

He said Peterson and Murray had been together for a long time and broke up earlier this year. He debunked rumors that Murray was dating someone else, sparking a jealous rage in Peterson.

Paul Pitts, a 17-year-old senior, said Peterson was the type of guy who was picked on by students when he was in high school.

Other friends and neighbors said Peterson, who was officially deputized in February, had recently completed special-forces-type training.

Why did Peterson kill so many people?

Local TV news outlets continue to cite jealousy as the possible motive, something that counters Fay Statezny's claims.

It's all speculation.

Crandon Township supervisor Ray Statezny Jr. offers a different story from Fay Statezny.

Crandon Township supervisor Ray Statezny Jr. said that the shooting was the result of a love triangle involving Deputy Peterson, a young woman, and another police officer.

"All I really heard was that there was a shooting," Statezny said. "Two officers were involved."

According to Statezny, "The one officer that did the shooting was going with the one girl that got killed. Then they split up and this other officer started going with her," Statezny explained.

Another resident says he heard suspect broke up with his girlfriend last week. She was apparently still in high school.

It was supposedly a homecoming party.

Beyond the matter of motive, an AP report highlights the fact that Peterson was in law enforcement.

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.

I really don't see that as an issue, that somehow the system broke down, that although Peterson's job was to protect and serve the community he committed mass murder.

Of course, it's disturbing that the shooter's duty was to protect the public from murderers like himself.

I just don't think it's all that relevant.

Would more thorough psychological examination have revealed that Peterson was not fit to serve?

What if it did?

Would that have prevented the slaughter?

I don't see how.

Another thing--

Of course, the small community of Crandon is reeling. Residents can't believe something like this would happen in their quiet up north home.

Such violence as Peterson committed really doesn't have anything to do with the size of the city.

Small towns aren't immune from these nightmarish events. Because the population is so much smaller, the odds are simply less of something like this happening outside of a densely populated urban area.

Such crimes aren't related to the place as much as they're related to the person committing them.


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 Photo/Andy Manis)


In cases like this, we look for explanations and try to understand. But can any information make sense of something so senseless and horrific?

Can it be predicted when someone is likely to go on a shooting rampage?

In some instances, yes. There can be clues. However, "some" isn't good enough.

I think this is one of those excruciatingly painful realities -- people are capable of doing great damage to others and committing unspeakable acts. It's something that we don't always have the ability to foresee or the power to prevent.

The "why" of it is so difficult to comprehend.

Yet if a search of Peterson's property revealed that he had spelled out his intentions to kill and explained himself in one of those creepy, lengthy, scribbled notebook manifestos, how would that help?

There might be some small measure of comfort in understanding a bit more, but there still would be six young people murdered and one injured.

It's difficult to acknowledge that a human being is capable of committing such violent and selfish acts and causing such heartbreak; but it happens and it can happen anywhere.


Prayers for the victims and their grieving families and friends. Their loss is so great and so sudden. They've been changed forever.

And prayers for Peterson's loved ones.

Peterson has condemned them to carry an unbearable burden for the rest of their lives.

There are too many victims here to count.
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Audio from 620 WTMJ
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Video from TMJ4
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Statement from Tyler Peterson's family

Our hearts go out to the victims, their families and their friends. We are grieving for your losses. We are very sorry for what has happened. This huge tragedy has deeply affected everyone, including us. We also feel a tremendous amount of guilt and shame for the horrible acts Tyler committed. We are struggling to respond, like most of you. We do not know what we should do. Like us many of you are asking why and looking for answers. There is nothing that happened before or after yesterday's events that has given any insight into why. We may never receive the answers we all seek. Like those close to Tyler we are in shock and disbelief he would do such terrible things. This was not the Tyler we knew and loved. We do not know how to act. We want to express our love and support to everyone affected, but are unsure what would be apppropiate. We are hurting for all of your losses, as well as ours. May God bless you all. You are in our thoughts and prayers.