jordanne murray

look at the victims, all of them students or graduates of Crandon High School:

Bradley Schultz, 20, was a third-year criminal justice major at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. He was the middle child with 15- and 22-year-old brothers.

Lindsey Stahl, 14, the youngest victim, was a vegetarian.



Jordanne Murray, 18, the ex-girlfriend of shooter Tyler Peterson, loved children and hoped to become a day-care provider, a family friend said.

Leanna Thomas, 18, sang with her identical twin, Lindsey, in the choir at Praise Chapel Community Church.

Katrina McCorkle, 18, loved softball, an ex-boyfriend said.

Aaron Smith was a happy-go-lucky guy who embraced his nickname "Chunk," said a friend. Smith, who was muscular, worked construction jobs. AN off-duty deputy sheriff has gunned down six young partygoers, including his former girlfriend, in a rampage in a small U.S. town.

America's latest mass shooting tragedy took place at a home in Crandon, Wisconsin, on the Canadian border, on Sunday about 5.30pm South Australian time.

The gunman, 20-year-old Tyler Peterson, a deputy with the Forest County Sheriff's Office and a part-time officer with the Crandon Police Department, was then shot dead by a police sniper after a 10-hour manhunt.

Reports said the partygoers were Crandon High School students and recent graduates aged 16-21. One of those killed was Jordanne Murray, 18, Peterson's former girlfriend.

Local radio reported Peterson was involved in a love triangle with Ms Murray and another local police officer, who she had recently been dating.

Locals said Peterson was the type of person who was picked on by students when he was in high school and friends and neighbours said he had recently completed special-forces type training.

Jenny Stahl, 39, said one of those killed was her 14-year-old daughter, Lindsey Stahl.

"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."

It is believed Peterson burst into his former girlfriend's house before opening fire, only hours after appearing calm and normal while discussing two of his pastimes, hunting and fishing, with friends.

"He must have just snapped," one of them said later. It is believed two of the dead had been close schoolyard friends of the gunman.

Kelly Flanery, 15, said she knew Ms Murray, who had worked at the local Subway and an ice-cream shop. She said she "was like the nicest person. She was friends with everyone".

A seventh shooting victim, a 19-year-old man, is in critical condition in hospital.

Crandon resident Marci Franz, who lives near the shooting scene, said she heard "five or six shots, a short pause and then five or six more".

"I wasn't sure if it was gunfire initially. I thought some kids were messing around and hitting a nearby metal building."

She said she heard eight louder shots and the sound of car tyres screeching.

The high school's crisis counsellors were yesterday talking to family and friends of the victims, who had gathered at local churches. The parents of Forest County Sheriff's Deputy Tyler Peterson, 20, have apologized for their son killing six people and wounding another before dying himself.


But the Reverend Bill Farr, who read the family's statement, said there was nothing that gave any insight as to why he was so violent. As the family put it, "This was not the Tyler we knew and loved."

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Authorities said the 20-year-old Peterson went to Jordanne Murray's apartment, whom he was dating on-again and off-again, and he left after an argument.


One friend said Murray rebuffed him and others in the apartment called him a "worthless pig."


Peterson returned about 2:45 a.m. Sunday with a AR-15 police rifle, fired 30 shots at Murray and five others at a homecoming party and shot and wounded Crandon officer Greg Carter while leaving the apartment.


Peterson then fled to a friend's house eight miles north of Crandon, where the police chief and the district attorney tried, but-failed to talk him into surrendering.


J.B. Van Hollen, State attorney general, would not say if Peterson was shot by a tactical officer or if he killed himself.


An autopsy Monday was expected to give the answer.


Also, officials would not say if Peterson used an official law enforcement weapon.


Survivor improving


The lone survivor, 21-year-old Charlie Neitzel, was taken off the critical list Monday at St. Joseph's Hospital in Marshfield and was in serious condition at last word.


Neitzel's mother, Carole, said she was not certain how long it would take for her son to recover, but she believes he'll be fine eventually.


She also said there was not a love triangle, as some reports have mentioned. Neitzel said Peterson's girlfriend did not have another boyfriend.


Crandon schools are closed again today, where counseling continues. Classes will resume Wednesday. All involved were either attending Crandon high school or were graduates.


Background checks passed


Authorities said Peterson passed all his required background checks.


But unlike applicants in larger police departments Peterson did not get a psychological test.


Police trainers Mark Kohl and Ed Krueger of Fox Valley Technical College say that's not unusual.


Krueger told the Appleton Post-Crescent that those who knew Peterson for 20 years probably vouched for him.


And Kreuger says folks are looking for something wrong when it might not have been the case.


In general, officials say Wisconsin has stricter standards than most in hiring police officers and they said no amount of screening could have predicted what happened in Crandon.


Some wonder if Peterson was too young to be an officer.


But Green Bay human resources analyst Shannon Metzler says most police recruits are about that age and they can be anywhere from 20-40.


The sheriff and district attorney in Forest County both said Peterson did a decent job for both the sheriff's department and as a part-time Crandon officer, and they saw no signs of potential problems.