sturmruger
Member
I read this news article in the paper today. It sounds pretty farfetched the lack of motive by the purported bad guys makes me wonder if there is more then meets the eye here. I don't know of too many loggers who bring a handgun and shotgun to work with them. It makes me think this guy was expecting something to happen. Still and interesting story though. I am sure we will learn more about this in the days to come.
More of the same story
Logger describes shoot-out in woods
Associated Press
A logger told investigators two men drove up and shot at him while he was working alone in the woods, sparking a gunfight in the forest, the Lincoln County Sheriff's Department said.
John "Homer" Van Meter of Rhinelander told investigators he had never seen the men before and didn't know what prompted the shooting, said Mike Caylor, communications officer with the sheriff's department.
Van Meter, 52, was in serious condition at an area hospital Friday with three bullet wounds to his torso and a graze wound to his head, Caylor said. The injuries were not considered life-threatening.
According to the account Van Meter gave the sheriff's department:
Van Meter was working around noon Wednesday in the town of Tomahawk when a passenger in a black sport utility vehicle got out and began shooting at him with a handgun. Van Meter ducked behind his truck, where he retrieved his own pistol and returned fire, which he believed injured the passenger.
The driver emerged with a rifle and began shooting, but Van Meter said he probably injured that man as well, and the driver got back in the SUV and drove away without the passenger.
The passenger started running through the woods, so Van Meter grabbed a 12-gauge shotgun and continued the gun battle until the man disappeared. Van Meter sustained the torso injuries during the chase.
He walked back through the woods, discarding his shotgun by a road after he grew too weak to carry it. Wardens with the state Department of Natural Resources found the shotgun by the road Thursday.
Van Meter sought help from a homeowner, who called 911.
"Everything we're finding in terms of physical evidence is matching up with what Mr. Van Meter is telling us," Caylor said.
Investigators found more than 30 shell casings from the original shooting site, believed to have come from the driver's weapon. The crime scene covers a two-mile stretch into the woods, slowing the investigation, according to authorities.
More of the same story
Shooting victim in serious condition
By Daily News
The investigation continues into a shooting in the town of Tomahawk Wednesday evening that left a Rhinelander man in serious condition at an area hospital.
The Lincoln County Sheriff's Department reports it spent much of Thursday mapping out the crime scene - which they think is much larger than was originally believed - and gathering evidence.
Authorities are also talking to John “Homer” Van Meter, 52, the victim of the shooting.
Van Meter, a logger, has told authorities he was in the woods near County Highway O working on a skidder when two white males in a black SUV came down the road, left the vehicle and began shooting at him.
Van Meter told authorities he reacted by returning fire with his own weapon.
Authorities are not saying what type of gun Van Meter used or the type of weapons used by the other men. It's not known if his return fire struck either of the other two men, who fled the scene after the shots were fired.
Van Meter told authorities he stayed in the woods for some time before seeking help from a nearby homeowner. The homeowner called 911 and Van Meter was transported to an area hospital for treatment of gunshot wounds.
According to the Lincoln County Sheriff's Department, Van Meter remains in serious condition but doctors expect him to recover from his injuries.
Meanwhile, investigators are trying to piece together the motive for the shooting.
“We have not been able to put a finger on what precipitated the incident,” Sheriff Tom Koth told The Daily News Thursday.
According to a news release, sheriff's investigators are planning to get together Friday to review all information gathered so far and hope to release additional information to the public soon. The Wisconsin State Patrol, wardens from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, and workers from the Lincoln County Forestry Department are assisting the sheriff's department in studying the vast area of woods where the shooting occurred.