THE NATION - Killing rampage details emerge - Wisconsin police say the off-duty officer shot himself during a standoff in the woods after killing 6 in town.
CRANDON, WIS. — The 20-year-old off-duty police officer who gunned down six young people later shot himself three times during a confrontation with law enforcement, once in the right temple, police said Tuesday.
They also released a chilling timeline and grim details of Tyler Peterson pursuing his victims through his former girlfriend's house, killing one girl as she hid in a closet.
This town of nearly 2,000 about 120 miles south of Lake Superior was no closer to understanding why Peterson, a well-liked hometown son known for his friendly demeanor and love of sports, went on a killing spree Sunday.
Those who were killed either were attending or were recent graduates of Crandon High School, Peterson's alma mater.
During a news conference, Wisconsin Atty. Gen. J.B. Van Hollen described what happened around 2:30 a.m. Sunday as the group celebrated a victorious homecoming football game.
Peterson stopped by the two-story duplex home of his ex-girlfriend Jordanne Murray, 18, where she was eating pizza and watching movies with friends. The house is about a block from the town's police station.
Peterson accused her of dating someone else. The pair argued. Peterson left, but minutes later he broke down the door carrying a police-issued AR-15 rifle.
"He didn't speak. He simply opened fire," Van Hollen said.
In the chaos that followed, Peterson shot the first three victims -- Aaron Smith and Bradley Schultz, both 20, and Lindsey Stahl, 14 -- in the living room as they sat on the couch or stood in front of it.
Murray was killed in the kitchen. Katrina McCorkle, 17, had run into a bedroom. She was killed in front of a closet where Lianna Thomas, also 17, was hiding. Peterson then shot Thomas.
Returning to the kitchen, Peterson shot Charles Neitzel, 21, in the leg. Neitzel fell, then struggled to stand while pleading for his friend to stop. Peterson shot him two more times, Van Hollen said. Neitzel lay still. He was listed in serious condition at St. Joseph's Hospital in Marshfield.
Peterson left the residence. Outside, he fired at a Crandon police officer responding to the gunshots and then fled, driving aimlessly and calling in false reports about his location.
He eventually stopped at a friend's home in the woods of Argonne, about 7 miles to the north.
In conversations with friends and law enforcement, he confessed to the crimes but refused to surrender to police, who had surrounded the cabin.
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