(NewsNation) — Authorities are investigating a stabbing in western Wisconsin that left one teenager dead and four others with serious injuries.
“Chaotic. Scary. I’m sure that anybody who witnessed this will never forget it,” St. Croix County Sheriff Scott Knudson said in a news conference Saturday, posted by KARE. “It is a tragedy, and I feel really bad for the families.”
On Saturday, the St. Croix County Sheriff’s Office reported that deputies responded to an incident on the Apple River in the Town of Somerset, about 35 miles west of Minneapolis.
Upon arrival at the scene, officers said they initially found five victims with stab wounds. Their injuries ranged from serious to critical.
“Deputies arrived and, with the help of a number of individuals and tubers, began to evacuate and administer EMS and lifesaving measures to some suffering a range of knife wounds,” Knudson said.
One of the five victims, a 17-year-old Minnesota boy, was later pronounced dead at a hospital, police said. The other victims, a woman and three men all in their early 20s, were taken to area hospitals for treatment. Their conditions ranged from serious to critical, and they all suffered stab wounds to their chest and torso areas.
Knudson said all the victims were tubing on the river when the incident took place. The suspect is a 52-year-old man from Minnesota who was also tubing on the river with another group, the sheriff’s office said.
The suspect fled on foot after the incident but was taken into custody shortly afterward. The man’s name is being withheld pending formal charges, which are expected to be filed Monday, police said.
St. Croix County jail records show a 52-year-old man was being held without bond on suspicion of first-degree homicide, four counts of aggravated battery and four counts of mayhem.
Knudson said investigators were working to determine what led to the stabbings and whether the victims and suspect knew each other.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.