Mugshot Ritchie German
Ritchie German was identified as the man who shot and killed four people at two different homes in northern Wisconsin – including his mother, brother, and a child – and authorities say he appears to have targeted a family that he didn’t know in a case they think bears some similarities to the earlier abduction of Jayme Closs in Barron County.
“The perpetrator is identified as 33-year-old Ritchie G. German,” said Chippewa County Sheriff James Kowalczyk in a news conference. Law enforcement encountered “two very tragic incidents… involving the death of five individuals. Four victims of homicide and the perpetrator, who took his own life.”
The murders were spread over two different homes and days. The Lake Hallie victims were named by authorities as Laile Vang, 24, who died at the scene, and her parents, Mai Chang Vang, 39, and Teng Vang, 51, who were shot and wounded but survived. The other homicide victims – who were likely killed the day before in another home – were German’s mother, Bridget A. German, 66; his brother, Douglas A. German, 32; and Douglas’s son, Calvin B. Harris, who was only 8. “All three suffered gunshot wounds to the head,” said the sheriff, of the latter victims.
It appears the Vangs didn’t know German, according to the sheriff, although the investigation continues. German sent text messages to Laile Vang, but she responded that she didn’t know who he was, the sheriff confirmed, although he wasn’t yet clear how German obtained her phone number. He said that he wasn’t certain exactly when the communication occurred. “It was sexual in nature,” said the Lake Hallie police chief, of Ritchie German’s texts.
“Why is he going armed to a residence he’s never been to before? To our knowledge it’s similar to the Closs situation,” the sheriff said at the press conference, of the Vang shootings, indicating that the motive is not yet known and that question is being investigated. However, Kowalcyzk repeatedly referenced the Closs case, in which a stranger, Jake Patterson, is accused of barging into a home to kidnap a teenage girl he didn’t know, murdering her parents before abducting her. Jayme Closs later staged a dramatic escape.
“I’m not saying that was the motive, but I’m saying similar circumstances that happened in Barron County happened in Chippewa County,” the sheriff said.
The sheriff said authorities are looking into whether German’s intentions were to abduct, not kill, Laile, but his plans went awry, referencing the Closs case. He outlined the similarities between the two cases: A door was breached, a shotgun used, the parents were shot in both cases. In this case, though, Laile Vang ended up deceased, her parents lived, and Ritchie German killed himself at the Vang home.
Police also found items (a loaded handgun and handcuffs) in the vehicle German was driving that led them to believe the case was similar to the Closs case, and they said the vehicle was running. About 10 spent shotgun shells were found at the scene.
Lake Hallie Police Chief Cal Smokowicz said officers also found four other individuals hiding from the gunfire in the Vang home.
Here’s what you need to know:
1. Ritchie German, Who Lived With His Mother, Was Described as a Friendless Loner
The picture that emerged of Ritchie German from family interviews was one of a friendless, jobless loner who lived off-and-on with his mother, the sheriff said in the lengthy news conference.
“Mr. German has been and continued to live with his mother…since around 2004” at the home where the first shootings occurred, said the sheriff.
There was no other residence for him on file. “For the last 15-16 years, Ritchie German has been living off and on with his mother,” the sheriff repeated.
He had no vehicle and only a “small amount of property” at the residence. “We are at a loss as to where he has been hanging his hat,” said the sheriff, who said any other more permanent address for him was unknown.
Ritchie German was described as a loner who “has no friends,” per family members.
He had “no employer that we know of,” said the sheriff. “Pretty much kept to himself. Pretty much a loner.” A shotgun was used in the Vang homicide and it either belonged to him or his brother, said the sheriff.
Around 2002, Bridget rented the home where she died. The household members included Doug, Ritchie, another brother, and two other minor children. Bridget and her husband Ritchie Sr. had been divorced right about that time, said the sheriff. In addition to the brother he killed, Ritchie German has a brother who is in a correctional institution, five sisters, and another brother who died years ago for unknown reasons, the sheriff added.
Those who knew German described him as a “troubled individual,” the sheriff added. Authorities were still looking into whether he had a presence on social media. The father told his ex-wife to not give Ritchie money to buy a gun, the sheriff said. There were several guns at the residence, but they belonged to Doug, not Ritchie.
2. Ritchie German Had a Previous Domestic Violence Case in Which He Pointed a Gun at His Brothers
Chippewa County Sheriff released ID and photo of the man who killed 4 relatives and then himself on Sunday night. Police say he killed his mom, brother, nephew and another 24 year old female. #LakeHallie #ChippewaFalls @WCCO
Authorities had contact with Ritchie German, but it was more than a decade ago. Still, the incident was a serious red flag. In 2006, Ritchie German was convicted of disorderly conduct and was sentenced to probation for one year, authorities said. He stayed clean during the year of probation. They didn’t have any other serious contact with him.
That case stemmed from a domestic incident. Authorities had contact with German, his mother and two brothers that year, authorities said in relation to a “domestic that took place. Mr. Ritchie was arrested for violation of endangering safety by the reckless use of a firearm. He was physically arrested, taken to the County Jail and went through the system. That was the only contact in regards to a crime that the Chippewa County Sheriff’s Department has had with Ritchie German.” The case ended up a disorderly conduct case after winding through the justice system.
“He pointed the gun in the direction of his brothers and said if they didn’t follow his orders, bad things could happen,” the sheriff revealed. “The mother called and said her son Ritchie had a gun and was arguing with his two brothers. She had taken the shotgun away from Ritchie and he and the brothers were at the residence. They were separated.”
His only other contact with law enforcement was a traffic citation. Authorities had no other contact with his brother Douglas over the years.
No criminal cases come up for Ritchie German on the Wisconsin Circuit Court Access online record system.
3. Authorities Think Ritchie’s Mother was Shot in the Bathroom & the Other Relatives in the Kitchen
WEAU will be live at noon from the scene of the Lake Hallie shooting.
The crime scenes were horrific.
German’s mother was “found in the basement. She was shot in the bathroom and dragged into an adjacent room. We believe Douglas and his son were shot possibly in the kitchen, wrapped up in a sleeping bag. They were discovered in the bedroom, possibly Bridget’s bedroom, which was empty. There was nothing in the bedroom other than a bed and the two bodies,” the sheriff said.
They were shot with a handgun. “Each victim had a single shot to the head.”
In an earlier news conference, Kowalczyk said that, at around 10:30 on Sunday evening, the Chippewa County dispatch center received several calls for assistance relating to shots fired at a residence in the village of Lake Hallie. That was the Vang residence, even though German shot his family members first.
Dispatch sent law enforcement, EMS, and fire officials to the residence on 45th Avenue and contact was made with individuals at that residence. The scene was secured at that point, and the investigation was started.
“We determined shortly thereafter there was no one in harm’s way at the residence at that time,” said the sheriff. Authorities determined that there were two adults who had died. One of the adults was the perpetrator and the other a young 24-year-old female victim (Laile Vang).
At that point, authorities discovered a vehicle at the residence parked out in the street. The license plate was run, and it listed to Douglas German, the brother of the perpetrator. After a short investigation, sheriff’s personnel went to Bridget’s home in the Town of Lafayette to determine why Doug’s vehicle was parked at the Vang residence.
Investigation later gave a chronology of events. The sheriff said German drove to the Vang residence with his brother’s car and was armed with a shotgun. He discharged a round through the door and entered the home. “The first person he encountered was Mr. Vang, the father of the deceased. He approached Mr. German, probably in a defensive action, raised his hand and was shot in his hand by Ritchie German,” said the sheriff.
Shortly thereafter, Teng’s wife Mai Vang, “approached the area of concern. She also raised her hand and was shot in the hand with the shotgun.”
Calls were then being made to the dispatchers. One woman was telling the dispatcher that her father had just been shot. But then authorities heard a shot in the background. That shot “was either the victim Laile Vang or the shot that he killed himself with,” said the sheriff of Ritchie German. It’s not clear if Laile was the person who made that call.
It was “over as fast as it started.” The Vangs were taken to a local hospital, where they are being treated.
When authorities arrived at the German residence, there was no answer at the door. The door was breached. Authorities entered the residence and “found three more victims. All victims were shot and killed at the residence. So, we have another investigation,” said the sheriff.
The first scene is located in the 1300 block of 45th Avenue, according to the Eau Claire Leader-Telegram.
A woman wrote on Facebook, “Yes we heard a couple shots but didn’t know what it was…heard 6 shots.
4. Ritchie German Called the Grocery Store Where His Mother Worked
The car Ritchie drove to the Vang house.
Bridget German worked at a local grocery store, and she was supposed to come to work on Saturday. The employer called the home and left a message asking why she wasn’t at work, said the sheriff. Saturday morning, Ritchie German called the grocery store and spoke to someone at the store. He related to them that “my mother is sick and she is in the hospital.”
Thus, authorities believe that Bridget, Douglas and Calvin were already dead by Saturday morning.
In addition, a neighbor boy who plays with Calvin had knocked on the door inquiring whether Calvin was home with other children. Ritchie said Calvin was with his grandmother and they went shopping, which the sheriff said was “another red flag” as to when this happened. “That was Saturday. The incident in Hallie didn’t happen until Sunday night.”
Authorities don’t know what happened in between that time.
5. The Sheriff Says Ritchie German’s Motive Is Not Yet Clear
#BREAKING Three People were found dead this morning at this home in Chippewa County Town of Lafayette. Police say the suspected shooter is dead and may also be the suspect from last night’s shooting in Lake Hallie.
Despite the references to the Closs case, the exact motive has not been proven.
The sheriff said the “why” is on everyone’s mind. Why did this happen? “What was the motive? …I don’t have that answer. We’re working on that answer. That question may never be answered,” said the sheriff.
He said the investigation continues, including search warrants being conducted. “Right now, I have to be honest with you – we don’t have that answer,” said the sheriff.
The deceased child’s mother lives in California, according to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.