Boy, 17, stabbed to death tubing down river and four others hurt
A man tubing on a Wisconsin river reportedly stabbed five people, killing a teenage boy and leaving four other people wounded.
The 17-year-old from Stillwater, Minnesota, died around 3.45pm on Saturday while floating on part of the Apple River, according to law enforcement officials.
Bystanders called 911 at 3.47pm, and sheriff’s deputies arrived on the scene to find five victims with wounds to their ‘mid-sections’ and no suspect.
‘Deputies, as well as citizens, began providing medical care,’ stated the St Croix County Sheriff’s Department.
Witnesses were able to identify the suspect when he arrived at the tubing exit area downriver in Somerset, the sheriff’s department said.
The Star Tribune identified the victim as incoming high school senior Isaac Shuman. The newspaper reportedly received a copy of an email from Stillwater High School Principal Robert Bach announcing the student’s death.
Metro.co.uk has reached out to the principal’s office for confirmation.
Authorities identified a 52-year-old man from Prior Lake, Minnesota, as the primary suspect. The Star Tribune reported that one witness had taken a photo with him earlier that day.
‘We don’t know yet who was connected to who, who knew each other or what precipitated it,’ St Croix County Sheriff Scott Knudson told the Star Tribune. ‘It’s a tragic day.’
The other victims were identified as a 20-year-old man from Luck, Wisconsin, a 22-year-old man from Luck, a 24-year-old woman from Elk River, Minnesota, and a 22-year-old man from Elk River.
One of the victims identified herself as 24-year-old Ryhley Mattison to the Daily Mail.
She said her and her friends came upon a group of younger tubers asking for their help. ‘There was an older man there being inappropriate and was asked to leave but wouldn’t,’ Mattison said. ‘The older man ended up having a knife and stabbed a few friends of mine and myself included.’
Mattison started a GoFundMe to help cover her medical expenses.
Two of the victims were airlifted to a hospital in St Paul for treatment. The other two were taken by ambulance to the same hospital, the sheriff’s department said.
The suspect has not yet been identified by authorities, but records from the county jail confirm that a man is being held on suspicion of first-degree homicide, four counts of aggravated battery and mayhem.
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