Deputy rebuffed, taunted before attack

No nationwide standards
No formal national standards exist for hiring police, although individual states are adopting requirements such as mandatory psychological tests, said Craig Zendzian, author of several guidebooks for police applicants.

In Minnesota, for example, police officers must be licensed by the state Board of Peace Officer Standards and Training — a process that includes an evaluation by a licensed psychologist.

At the news conference, which gave the most detailed explanation yet of the shooting, the police chief said Peterson and the young woman had been in a relationship for a few years.

“They had broken up and gone back and forth,” Dennee said.

After the attack, in phone conversations with the police chief and others, Peterson identified himself as the shooter, authorities said.

The rifle used in the shootings is the type used by the sheriff’s department, but investigators had not confirmed whether the gun came from law enforcement.

Classes canceled as students mourn
The six young people killed in the rampage were either students or graduates of Crandon High School. They were at the house to share pizza and watch movies during the school’s homecoming weekend. Classes were canceled Monday, and many teens went to a church to meet with counselors.

The other victims were identified as Jordanne Murray, who was believed to be the girlfriend; Katrina McCorkle; Leanna Thomas; Aaron Smith; and Lindsey Stahl. Autopsies were scheduled to be completed Monday, but results were not immediately available.

Schultz, 20, was a third-year criminal justice major at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee who hoped to be a homicide detective. He was home visiting friends and appeared to have died trying to protect one.

“We still don’t have many details, but from what they’ve told us, there was a girl next to him and he was covering her, protecting her,” said an aunt, Sharon Pisarek, as she sobbed. “He was loved by everybody. He was everybody’s son. Senseless.”

The lone survivor, Charlie Neitzel, 21, of Pickerel, was upgraded to serious condition and was improving Monday at a hospital.

Pastor Bill Farr read a statement from Peterson’s family in which relatives expressed their shock and sorrow.

“Our hearts go out to the victims, their families and their friends. We are grieving for your losses. We feel a tremendous amount of guilt and shame for the acts Tyler committed,” it said.

It continued: “We may never receive the answers we all seek. Like those close to Tyler we are in shock and disbelief that he would do such terrible things. This was not the Tyler we knew and loved.”

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