A 17-year-old boy was killed and four other people were injured when a man stabbed them Saturday as the group descended the Apple River, a Wisconsin sheriff said.
The 52-year-old suspect is from nearby Minnesota, as is the victim who died, St. Croix County Sheriff Scott Knudson told reporters, including Minneapolis NBC affiliate KARE, on a press conference on Saturday. Neither was identified on Saturday.
The four survivors were described as one woman and three men, all in their twenties. At least three of the victims were hospitalized in critical condition, while a fourth was described as “walking wounded,” Knudson said.
Detectives have not determined the motive for the attack. Knudson said the suspect and the victims were in different groups of people floating down the river at the same time when the incident happened around 3:45 PM on Saturday in Somerset, Wisconsin.
“Everyone was tubing,” the sheriff said.
The arrested suspect had left after the stabbing but was tracked down with help from bystanders, including one who took a photo of the suspect and another who saw him an hour and a half after the incident, the sheriff said.
The suspect was in the St. Croix County jail awaiting possible charges, Knudson said.
The suspect was unknown to the sheriff and Knudson said such an attack was rare in the area.
“It’s been several years since a stabbing happened,” he said, “maybe 15 years now.”