Man held after five killed in deer hunt dispute

Investigators in Wisconsin were trying to determine yesterday exactly what happened in a remote area of forest on Sunday afternoon when a deer hunter killed five people and injured three with his semi- automatic rifle.

Investigators in Wisconsin were trying to determine yesterday exactly what happened in a remote area of forest on Sunday afternoon when a deer hunter killed five people and injured three with his semi- automatic rifle.

The slaughter may have begun because of a dispute over a tree-top hide. The man accused of the killings, identified as Chai Vang, allegedly opened fire after being challenged by other hunters for straying on to a private platform. Among those killed were a father and a son, a teenager and a woman. Their bodies were found over an area of more than 100 square yards.

"This is completely nuts," said Chief Deputy Tim Zeigle of the Sawyer County Sheriff's Department. "Why? I mean, five people dead because somebody was trespassing on property. It makes no sense."

Officials said Mr Vang, 36, was spotted on the platform by two hunters as they returned to their cabin in the woods near the end of the day. Both men were wounded by shots from Mr Vang. They radioed friends in the woods to come to their assistance. As they arrived to challenged Mr Vang, they also faced his gunfire.

"Apparently, the person was asked to leave and get out of his deer stand, and he didn't take it very well and he fired away at them," said Julie Veness, an emergency medical technician at the hospital at nearby Exceland, Wisconsin. Mr Vang was in custody last night.