Shooting Leaves 6 Dead, 1 Injured

Jun 11, 07:35 AM

Current Headlines: By TODD RICHMOND

By Todd Richmond

The Associated Press

DELAVAN, Wis.

Twin infant boys were among six people found shot to death in a rental house in southern Wisconsin after a barrage of gunfire that neighbors thought was firecrackers.

A survivor, a 2-year-old girl, was shot in the chest and found in a van nearby.

Investigators refused to describe the circumstances of the shooting, but police said they did not think anyone else was in danger, suggesting that either it was a murder-suicide or the shooter was in custody.

"What we have is a complicated death scene, and we're investigating all the possibilities," said Kevin St. John , a spokesman with the state Justice Department, which is leading the investigation.

Officers, responding to a report of shots fired, stormed the A- frame duplex Saturday night with weapons drawn, kicking in the door, neighbor Richard Heideman said. He saw two paramedics go in behind them and come back out minutes later.

"That's when I knew everybody was dead," Heideman said.

As the bodies were wheeled out, one onlooker dropped to his knees on a neighbor's lawn and threw his hands to the sky in prayer.

Authorities have not released the victims' names, but Kay Macara said her 19-year-old daughter, Vanessa Iverson, was among the dead.

With tears in her eyes, Macara said her daughter went to the apartment the previous night to visit friends.

"My child," she said. "I want answers."

Also in the house during the shooting were the twin infants, their parents, and the mother's sister and her husband, said Sarah Iverson, Iverson's sister-in-law.

The 2-year-old sister of the twins, Jasmine, was in serious condition at University of Wisconsin Hospital in Madison .

The father of the children, 22-year-old Ambrocio Analco, was among the dead, said Marco Pastrana, Analco's cousin. He said the twin boys were 2 to 3 months old.

Pastrana said Analco no longer lived with the children's mother. Analco left Pastrana's house Saturday night to drop the children off with her at the duplex, Pastrana said.

Neighbor Leandra Mena, 65, said she heard what she thought were firecrackers coming from the house about 10:30 p.m. Saturday.

"I thought it was firecrackers because it's so close to the Fourth of July," she said.

Tina McKinnon, 37, lives about a block away and said there was never any commotion at the house. "The children were very pleasant," she said.

Delavan is home to about 8,000 people .

(c) 2007 Virginian - Pilot. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.