A middle-aged man went on a stabbing spree, killing a teenage boy and injuring four other people–all while they were tubing on a river, say authorities in St. Croix County, Wisconsin. Sheriff Scott Knudson did not name the people involved during his press conference on Saturday, but he described the suspect as being 52-years-old, and the slain victim as a 17-year-old boy (h/t KMSP). Both were from Minnesota, he said.
At about 3:45 p.m., the communications center got 911 calls of a stabbing that happened on the Apple River in the city of Somerset, he said. As deputies responded, they got reports of a number of people having been stabbed. Authorities found five victims, he said. Knudson said he was told the survivors received critical injuries, though he said he saw one walking wounded.
The sheriff told reporters the actual incident happened 100 yards upriver near The Sunrise Bridge by the old Sunrise Park. Deputies had to get up into the river to reach victims but were able to do so with the help of tubers and other people, he said.
Thanks to witness help, authorities were able to find the suspect about an hour and a half after the incident, Knudson said. He described the 52-year-old man as cooperative during the arrest, but he said that the individual did not have the knife on him. Deputies were still searching for the weapon, he said Saturday.
The investigation is ongoing. It is unclear what started the incident and whether the man and the boy knew one another. The 52-year-old belonged to a group of six to eight people, Knudson said.
“And then we have the other individuals,” he said.
Investigators believe everyone was tubing. The sheriff estimated investigators trying to get interviews with 15 to 20 people. Knudson suggested there could be formal charges in this incident as early as Monday.
[Screenshot via KARE]
