A teenager died and four others were seriously injured on Saturday during a stabbing incident as the group tubed a Wisconsin river, ABC News reported.
According to St. Croix County Sheriff Scott Knudson, the scene was “chaotic” and “I’m sure that anybody that witnessed it will never forget it,” he told reporters, adding, “It is a tragedy.”
The incident happened while the group was tubing the Apple River, located in Somerset. The 17-year-old boy, a resident of Minnesota, was rushed to a hospital but later pronounced dead, according to Knudson.
In a social media post on Saturday, the sheriff’s office provided more details.
“A Suspect has been located and TAKEN INTO CUSTODY, there’s no further threat to the public,” the agency’s post read, adding officials were still investigating:
***Critical Incident Alert***Please be advised, the St. Croix County Sheriff’s Office responded to a critical incident…
Posted by St. Croix County Sheriff’s Office on Saturday, July 30, 2022
Per the ABC report, the suspect was a 52-year-old man from Minnesota.
“Again, five individuals. Four were transported out. Two by ambulance, two by air,” Knudson explained during a press conference, noting among the four individuals were one woman and three men, believed to be in their 20s.
Photos showed people on the river and a WCCO reporter said it was unclear whether the incident was random:
BREAKING: One person is dead and four others in critical condition after a stabbing on the Apple River in Somerset, Wisconsin, a popular tubing area. Authorities say the suspect is now in custody and it’s unclear if it was a random attack. @WCCO pic.twitter.com/NNuAfwU88N
— Kirsten Mitchell (@Kirsten_TV) July 30, 2022
“It’s all believed that everybody was tubing. Where they all started, I do not know, from which campground or which park. But they were all tubing and appeared to be simultaneously going down with those two groups,” Knudson continued:
He also told reporters the information he received was there were multiple “torso injuries, stab wounds.” However, he did not know how many each person suffered nor their location.
Meanwhile, officials searched for the knife and interviewed multiple witnesses.
Authorities are still searching the Apple River for the knife used in the stabbing. They closed down tubing as soon as it happened. @WCCO pic.twitter.com/sczPnEZprb
— Kirsten Mitchell (@Kirsten_TV) July 31, 2022
“We’re actually in the process of trying to divert some of the tubing traffic around our crime scene,” Knudson said at the time. “That alone is causing some challenges trying to get them off the river, and gathering up what we can in a hard-to-get-to area.”
