A Minneapolis hunter who was asked to leave a deer stand located on private property in Wisconsin apparently opened fire on the property owner and his hunting guests, killing six and wounding two others.

The incident took place in northwestern Wisconsin on the day after deer season opened in rural Sawyer County, where deer hunting is a way of life for hundreds of local sportsmen.

Authorities investigating the case pieced together the events leading up to the shootings:

Chai Vang, 36, of St. Paul, Minnesota apparently became lost while hunting in the area and asked two hunters for directions. He ended up on 400 acres of private property and climbed up on a deer stand he found there.

Terry Willers, a member of the private hunting party rode by the site and saw someone in the deer stand and radioed back to the hunting cabin to ask who was in the stand. When he was told no one was supposed to be in the deer stand.

The hunter said he would ask the hunter to leave the stand, and others from the private party, including the property owner, drove their ATVs to the scene.

When asked to leave the deer stand, Vang complied and began to walk away from the scene. As he walked away, someone in the private party wrote down Vang's out-of-state hunting license number -- properly posted on Vang's back -- in the dust on his ATV.

According to survivors of the incident, Vang walked about 40 yards away from the party, took the scope off his Chinese style SKS semi-automatic rifle, and turned and began to fire at private party.

Three of the hunters were shot in the initial burst of fire.

Rescuers Shot At Also

Someone in the hunting party radioed back to the cabin and said they were under fire. As others from the cabin arrived at the scene, unarmed, to try to rescue the wounded hunters, they too were shot, Sawyer County Sheriff Jim Meier said. Some of the victims had multiple gunshot wounds.
Vang fled the scene and apparently became lost again. Two other hunters, who were unaware of the shooting incident, walked him out of the woods. As they left the woods, a Department of Natural Resources officer recognized the hunting license number on Vang's back and took him into custody.

Killed in the incident were Robert Crotteau, 42; his son Joey, 20; Al Laski, 43; Mark Roidt, 28; and Jessica Willers, 27, the daughter of Terry Willers. Dennis Drew died of his wounds Monday night. Still hospitalized are Terry Willers, who was listed in critical condition, and Lauren Hesebeck, listed in fair condition.

Vang 'Calm' After Shootings

According to Sheriff Meier, Vang is a U.S. military veteran and a naturalized citizen originally from Laos. Meier also said Vang appears to be mentally stable.
"From my dealings with him, he seems mentally capable of conducting his affairs. His criminal history is, I believe, there's a misdemeanor warrant for trespass out of a county in Minnesota, and he does have an entry in his file for an aggravated assault," Meier said. Meier said in a press conference that Vang has remained extremely calm and has not confessed to shooting anybody. He described the suspect's calm as "frightening."

"I just don't think any of this makes sense. And the demeanor makes no sense, and the action makes no sense. I can't even speculate on ... what was in his mind or what he was thinking," Meier said.