Man Wielding Rifle Kills 2, Wounds 1 in Wisconsin

A man carrying a sawed-off rifle under his coat burst into county offices Friday, shooting the coroner and another government worker to death and seriously wounding another person before he was shot and captured, authorities said.

Aaron J. Lindh, 19, was wounded in an exchange of gunfire with sheriff’s deputies and was taken into custody, Madison Police Chief David Couper said. Lindh was listed in serious but stable condition at a nearby hospital.

Clyde Chamberlain, 62, the Dane County coroner for 20 years, and Eleanor M. Townsend, 40, a secretary in the corporation counsel office, were shot and killed by the gunman, Couper said.

Suffered Head Wound

The third victim, Erik H. Erickson, 45, personnel director for the state Justice Department, was wounded in the head and was undergoing surgery.

The gunman shot Townsend and Erickson in the sheriff’s office, exchanged shots with deputies, then walked down the hall and shot Chamberlain in his office, Couper said. Townsend reportedly was on an errand and Erickson was paying a traffic ticket.

The gunman was carrying a sawed-off .22-caliber rifle that he concealed until he reached the sheriff’s office, Couper said.

“It was a very random situation. There does not appear to be . . . any type of motive,” Couper said. “We believe it to be a lone and singular act by the person we have in custody.”

Lindh was facing a jury trial early next month on a charge of reckless use of a weapon, Dane County Dist. Atty. Hal Harlowe said. He declined to comment further on that case.