CRANDON, Wis. — A young sheriff’s deputy who opened fire on a pizza party and killed six people reportedly flew into a rage when he was rebuffed by his old girlfriend, and others at the gathering called him a “worthless pig.”
A longtime friend told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on Monday that 20-year-old Tyler Peterson came to his door in the hours after the rampage and calmly explained what he had done.
“He wasn’t running around crazy or anything. He was very, very sorry for what he did,” Mike Kegley said, adding that he gave Peterson coffee and food and later called 911.
Peterson told Kegley that he had gone to his ex-girlfriend’s house early Sunday morning in hopes of patching up the relationship after a recent breakup. But, he said, Peterson lost control when the meeting ended in an argument and other people started ridiculing him as a “worthless pig.”
Police, who declined to provide details of the argument, said Peterson stormed out, retrieved an AR-15 rifle from his car outside and burst back into the house, firing 30 shots that killed all but one of the people.
Peterson, a deputy and part-time police officer, later died after exchanging gunfire with law enforcement officers. Whether Peterson was shot by police or took his own life was unclear.
The police chief said Peterson and the young woman had been in a relationship for a few years.
“They had broken up and gone back and forth,” Police Chief JohnDennee said.
The six young people killed in the rampage were either students or graduates of Crandon High School.
The victims were identified as Jordanne Murray, who was believed to be the ex-girlfriend; Katrina McCorkle; Leanna Thomas; Bradley Schultz; Aaron Smith; and Lindsey Stahl. Autopsies were scheduled to be completed Monday, but results were not immediately available.
The lone survivor, Charlie Neitzel, 21, was upgraded to serious condition and was improving Monday at a hospital.
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