Verdict Reached in Wisconsin Hunter Shooting

Last November, Chai Vang, 36, was arrested and accused of killing six deer hunters and wounding two others while he was hunting on private land in Wisconsin. Vang, a Hmong immigrant fro St. Paul, MN, testified that he shot the hunters because of racial slurs and his fears that they were going to kill him. He testified in court that one of the hunters fired at him first, and he shot only in self-defense, although two of the survivors testified that Vang was the first to shoot.

The courtroom was packed for six days with about 100 people, most of whom were relatives or friends of the dead hunters. Vang was dressed in a business suit, sitting calmly at the defense table, with two rows of family and friends sitting behind him. When it was his turn to testify, Vang quietly described how he shot each man one by one after one of them fired at him first. He said that his shooting spree started when Robert Crotteau, the owner of the land where Vang was trespassing in a tree stand, confronted Vang. According to Vang, Crotteau said, 'Do you know you're trespassing on 400 acres of land, you dang gook?" Vang said he told him no, because he didn’t see any signs saying private property. He said that Crotteau then replied, "I don't have to put a f------ sign ... you f------ chink." Vang said he asked how was he to know it was private property if there were no signs up, and at that point Crotteau asked to see his deer hunting license. Vang refused and started waling away. And according to Vang, that’s when the shooting began. "When I walk, I kind of looked back and walked and looked back because I'm afraid," Vang said. "I don't know what they're going to do." Vang continued by saying that when he looked back, he saw another hunter, Terry Willers, point his rifle at him. Willers was sitting in the courtroom listening while Vang described dropping to the ground as he heard a shot and saw dirt kick up about 50 feet away.

Vang says that was when he turned and fired his first shot. "I shot one time. He dropped to the ground," Vang said. "And then he tried to get up. I shot him one more time. In my mind, if I don't shoot them, they'll shoot me." Vang told a shocked courtroom that he "chased" a couple of the victims as they ran frantically back to their ATVs, because he thought they were going to get their rifles. Attorney General Peg Lautenschlager, who prosecuted the case herself, asked Vang if he stopped to see whether any of the victims were unarmed. Vang replied, "No. I did what I had to do to defend myself. I was doing what was necessary to stay alive."

In her closing argument, Lautenschlager said the evidence at the scene proved that Vang had shot some of the eight people by ambush and some by chasing them down. She added that the trajectory of the fatal bullets, the fact that Vang removed the scope from his rifle to be able to aim better, and other physical evidence at the scene all corroborate the state’s contention that Vang is guilty of murder. She said that Vang’s testimony made it clear that he thought the hunters deserved to die for calling him names.

Judge Norman Yackel instructed the jury that they could reach one of four verdicts—first degree murder, second degree murder, attempted homicide, or not guilty. The judge denied a request by the defense that the jury be offered a fifth option, finding Vang guilty of the lesser charge of reckless homicide. It took only about three hours for the jury to announce that it had reached a verdict. Vang was convicted on all six counts of first-degree intentional homicide and three counts of attempted homicide. A date for sentencing has not been announced.