Jealous deputy kills 6 in shooting rampage (Roundup)

Oct 8, 2007, 20:13 GMT

Washington - A young, off-duty sheriff's deputy allegedly killed his ex-girlfriend and five others in a shooting rampage that began at the woman's flat in a small Midwestern town, officials said Monday.

The shooting spree began before 3 am Sunday in the small town of Crandon in the northern part of Wisconsin, a mostly rural state in the upper Midwest.

Local police were called to a report of gunfire in the duplex apartment where the 18-year-old girlfriend, Jordanne Murray, lived.

Before the incident was over, 30 shots shots were fired killing six young people apparently attending a party and a 19-year-old man was critically wounded.

Authorities said Monday the alleged gunman was Tyler Peterson, 20, a sheriff's deputy in Forest County, where Crandon is located. He apparently shot at the first police officer to respond to the scene, lightly injuring him.

He fled and was apparently killed hours later during a firefight with police, said JB Van Hollen, the state's justice minister. It was unclear if he had been killed by police.

The dead, including the gunman, were all local youths described as close friends who had gone to school together and ranged in age from 14 to 20. Three were still students at the local high school and the others had gone on to university.