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Six young people have died after a part-time police officer opened fire at a
house in the Midwestern US state of Wisconsin early on Sunday.
The shootings took place in the town of Crandon, in the north of the state.
The suspect, who was employed by the Forest County Sheriff's office, was
reported to have been killed by a police sniper.
Unconfirmed reports say the attack followed an argument between the gunman and
his girlfriend.
The gunman was named as 20-year-old Tyler Peterson. Police Chief John Dennee
said that he also worked part-time as a police officer, although he was not on
duty at the time of the shooting.
The incident occurred shortly before 0300 local time (0800 GMT), when the
gunman opened fire at a house where a group of young people had gathered.
"The subject was located by law enforcement officers. The subject is deceased
and is no longer a threat to the public," Sheriff Keith Van Cleve said.
A seventh youth is in critical condition in hospital.
Tight-knit community
"It's a pretty tragic situation here," said Forest County Supervisor Tom
Vollmar, who lives just outside Crandon, a community of 2,000 people, about 225
miles (360 kilometres) north of Milwaukee.
Three of the victims were Crandon High School students, said schools
Superintendent Richard Peters, and the other three had graduated within the
past three years.
"There is probably nobody in Crandon who is not affected by this," Mr Peters
said, adding that students would be especially affected.
"They are going to wake up in shock and disbelief and a lot of pain."
One of the dead was named as 14-year-old Lindsey Stahl.
Her mother, Jenny Stahl, said her daughter was staying at a friend's house.
"I'm waiting for somebody to wake me up right now. This is a bad, bad dream,"
Mrs Stahl said.
"All I heard, it was a jealous boyfriend and he went berserk. He took them all
out," she added.
Bud Evans, an elder at Crandon Praise Chapel, told BBC News 24 that worried
relatives had gathered at the church as they waited for news.
"If there's five or six children or kids, young adults, whatever, involved in
this, I'd know every one of them - the community's that small and that
tight-knit," Mr Evans said.