HAYWARD, Wis. - A Hmong immigrant accused of gunning down eight fellow deer hunters in the Wisconsin woods was charged Monday with six counts of murder and two counts of attempted murder.
Chai Vang, 36, of St. Paul, Minn., could get life in prison if convicted in the shootings, which left six people dead and two wounded. Wisconsin does not have a death penalty.
The gunfire broke out Nov. 21 after Vang was caught trespassing on a hunting platform on some of the victims' land.
In court papers, Vang, an immigrant from Laos, said that he opened fire after the others took a shot at him first and berated him with racial slurs. But two of the survivors told authorities that Vang fired the first shot.
Vang is jailed on $2.5 million bail.
