Jump to content

Crandon shooting

Coordinates: 45°34′13″N 88°54′18″W / 45.57028°N 88.90500°W / 45.57028; -88.90500
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected from Aaron Smith (murder victim))
Crandon shooting
LocationCrandon, Wisconsin, U.S.
DateOctober 7, 2007 (2007-10-07)
c. 2:45 a.m. (CDT)
TargetCrandon High School students and recent graduates
Attack type
Mass murder, murder-suicide, mass shooting
Weapons
Deaths7 (including the perpetrator)[4]
Injured1
PerpetratorTyler James Peterson
MotiveRelationship dispute (suspected)

The Crandon shooting was a mass murder that occurred about 2:45 a.m. CDT on October 7, 2007, at a post-homecoming party inside a duplex in Crandon, Wisconsin, United States.[5] The perpetrator, 20-year-old Tyler James Peterson (March 6, 1987 – October 7, 2007), who was a full-time deputy in the Forest County Sheriff's Department and a part-time officer with the Crandon Police Department, shot and killed six people and critically injured a seventh before committing suicide.[6] One of the victims, 18-year-old Jordanne Michele Murray, was Peterson's former girlfriend, and it was believed that a dispute within the apartment motivated the shooting.

The incident was retroactively identified as the first time an AR-15 style rifle was used in a mass shooting in the U.S., according to Mother Jones's mass shooting database; AR-15s have been used in mass shootings at increasing rates since the Crandon shooting.[1][2] [a]

Overview

[edit]

Peterson, who was not on duty at the time of the shooting, entered an apartment complex where a homecoming party was held at approximately 2:45 a.m. CDT. There, he shot seven people, ages 14 to 21, killing six of them and wounding one. Peterson fled the scene and was confronted by authorities at a cabin later that day. His cause of death was initially believed to have been from a gunshot fired by a police sniper, but it was later discovered that he committed suicide by multiple gunshots. Police have determined that approximately 30 rounds were fired throughout the duration of the shooting.

Victims

[edit]

All victims were either students or recent graduates of Crandon High School. One victim played dead after being shot three times and survived.

Fatalities:

  • Aaron Smith, 20
  • Bradley Schultz, 20
  • Jordanne Michele Murray, 18
  • Katrina McCorkle, 18
  • Lianna Thomas, 17
  • Lindsey Stahl, 14
  • Tyler James Peterson, 20 (Perpetrator)

Survivors:

  • Charlie Neitzel, 21

See also

[edit]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ A Colt AR-15 Sporter was first used in a mass shooting by Dewitt Henry, the killer in the mass shooting at Uncle Albert's Lounge in Klamath Falls, Oregon on July 23, 1977. AR-15s were also used by Alvin King in 1980 and Carl Drega in 1997. Data Source: The Violence Project Mass Shooter Database, Version 8.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b Despart, Zach (March 20, 2023). "'He has a battle rifle': Police feared Uvalde gunman's AR-15". The Texas Tribune. Archived from the original on May 31, 2023. Retrieved March 26, 2023.
  2. ^ a b Follman, Mark; Aronsen, Gavin; Pan, Deanna. "US Mass Shootings, 1982–2023: Data From Mother Jones' Investigation". Mother Jones. Archived from the original on March 31, 2023. Retrieved March 26, 2023.
  3. ^ "What happened in Crandon on Oct. 7". LA Times. 8 June 2008. Archived from the original on 5 April 2019. Retrieved June 8, 2008.
  4. ^ Holusha, John (October 8, 2007). "Dispute Is Cited in Wisconsin Shooting". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2017-02-27. Retrieved 2007-10-08.
  5. ^ Deputy fired 30 shots from rifle in killing 6, officials say Archived 2007-10-10 at the Wayback Machine, CNN.
  6. ^ Shooter killed after Wisconsin gun rampage, Telegraph.
[edit]

45°34′13″N 88°54′18″W / 45.57028°N 88.90500°W / 45.57028; -88.90500