Police release details, video of prom shooting

ANTIGO - Students at first thought the rapid series of bangs outside the Antigo prom dance April 23 were firecrackers, maybe a prank initiated by other kids.

Then they saw the sparks flying from bullets ricocheting off concrete and cars, and a boy fall to the ground with his leg blown open. Seconds later, a group of students watched as a police officer shot a dark figure in the Antigo High School parking lot three times and shouted commands to drop a gun.

Documents released Thursday by the state Department of Justice painted a grisly scene of the shooting that left two students injured and gunman Jakob Wagner, a former Antigo student, dead of a gunshot wound to the head. They represent the first detailed account by authorities of what precisely happened that night and where Wagner got the bayonet-equipped military rifle and ammunition used in the shootings.

Also released: Antigo High School surveillance video that shows Wagner approaching the students he just shot and an officer chasing and then firing the shots that killed Wagner.

The DOJ released the records as it announced that the officer who killed Wagner, Andrew Hopfensperger Jr., had been cleared of any wrongdoing in the shooting and his chief reported that Hopfensperger was being returned to his patrol duties after serving more than two months of administrative leave as the state completed its investigation.

The records included not just the DOJ's written reports, but hundreds of photos of evidence from the scene and from Wagner's body, and audio and video recordings made as part of the investigation. The reports reveal information about officers' actions, Wagner's background and events of the night for the first time:

Wagner, 18, bought the SKS semiautomatic rifle two weeks before the shooting at the Bob and Rocco Gun Show held at the Langlade County Fairgrounds, according to the report. He bought military ammunition the day before the shooting at Fleet Farm, the reports said.

Witnesses told police they saw him riding to the prom on his bicycle wearing black clothing and camouflage pants. Across his back was slung a soft-shelled guitar case that police believe he used to conceal his rifle.

Hopfensperger and Officer Ryan Bula became aware of the shooting at the same time students did. They were patrolling the school parking lot at about 11 p.m. where Bula's police dog was searching for drugs when, like the students, they heard what they thought were fireworks. Like students, they became aware the situation was serious when they saw sparks flying and saw a student fall to the ground with a leg wound.

Related: Prom shooter's mom struggles with loss
Related: Antigo comforts shooter's family

Hopfensperger told DOJ investigators that he first saw Wagner — whom he had never met — as Wagner advanced toward the students who were screaming for help with his rifle aimed at them. Hopfensperger said he drew his pistol and rushed toward Wagner. When he ordered Wagner to drop the gun, Wagner turned it toward the officer and Hopfensperger opened fire, shooting eight times and hitting Wagner three times, in the head, chest and lower leg.

He radioed for help then searched Wagner and found ammunition stuffed in every pocket he had. Investigators later determined that Wagner had fired 10 times, striking the school, parked cars and two students. He had 45 more rounds of ammunition in his pockets.

Hopfensperger told investigators that when he moved the rifle away from Wagner, he found that it had jammed while Wagner was shooting it and it was unable to fire.

Hopfensperger said he shot Wagner because "the shooter was shooting a military-styled rifle at children." One student told police that he used his prom vest as a tourniquet to staunch the bleeding on one of Wagner's victims. Another told police that she had no doubt that Hopfensperger saved students' lives by shooting Wagner as he was advancing toward students with his rifle raised.

About Wagner

Antigo police called for the Department of Justice to investigate the shooting even as victims were being treated in hospitals. Investigators first dug into Wagner's past.

From his family, they learned that Wagner had reported being bullied for years, primarily by a group of skateboarders who tormented him so badly that he was allowed to leave school early to avoid them. They also said that those problems hadn't surfaced for years. Wagner most recently had been working as a teacher's aide at Antigo High School, assisting an art class through Forward Service Corp., a nonprofit that offers employment training and career services to low-income adults and youth.

Wagner may have taken that job to be close to an Antigo High School senior he began dating months before the prom. She was his first girlfriend, and he her first boyfriend.

A few weeks before the shooting, the girl felt that Wagner was getting too "clingy" with her, according to police reports. She ended their relationship outside the art classroom where they saw each other every day.

Shortly after that breakup, she learned that Wagner had tried to kill himself.

"He made one suicide attempt by drinking a mixture of bleach and vinegar," the report said. "Wagner wanted to commit suicide."

The girlfriend told Wagner that she didn't like seeing him depressed — his family told investigators that he was so distraught by the breakup that he couldn't eat for some time afterward.

When the girlfriend confronted him, Wagner asked if she would kill herself with him, the report said. She refused, and cut off all communication with him.

Buying the gun

About two weeks after the breakup, Wagner attended a gun show at the local fairgrounds where he paid about $400 for the rifle he ultimately used in the shooting. His family told police it was the first firearm he owned, although he had practiced shooting when he was younger.

Family members said he was excited about owning the gun, and posted on social media about exercising his "American rights" when he bought the rifle; they described him as "very political."

One family member asked Wagner's mother, Lorrie Wagner, how she could have allowed him to buy the gun, and she responded that he was an adult who could spend his money as he wished.

The day before the prom, Wagner had a friend drive him to the local Fleet Farm, where he bought every box of ammunition the store had in stock for his rifle, the friend told police.

He said Wagner did not seem sad or upset the day before the shootings.

The follow-up

Lorrie Wagner told police at Aspirus Wausau Hospital, where her son had just been declared dead and she had just learned of his role in the shootings, that he had asked his girlfriend to prom before they broke up. She went on to tell investigators that she had spent the day before with him and though Jakob seemed "more quiet than usual," she did not sense anything amiss.

But a friend told police that she spoke with Jakob Wagner on the day of the shooting, and he had texted her that his former girlfriend was going to prom with her new boyfriend. She told police she thought Wagner committed the crime because he was upset about the break-up.

Another friend said he thought Wagner was over the breakup — that he and Wagner had discussed the split and came to the conclusion that "all women are crazy." He told investigators that he was stunned to learn of his friend's involvement in the shooting because he had known Wagner since third grade and believed he was not the sort to act out when upset.

Investigators also interviewed several of Wagner's teachers, all of whom said they were surprised at his role in the shootings because he tended to be an introvert who was kind and thoughtful to others, although he also struggled at times to fit in while a student.

The report ultimately makes no conclusions about what might have provoked the shootings, nor does it attempt to determine whether Wagner was bullied in school or the extent of any bullying.

The only conclusion it does reach is that a special prosecutor, Galen Bayne-Allison, had reviewed all the information gathered by investigators and determined that the officers involved behaved properly and that Hopfensperger's use of deadly force was justified.

Investigators told Wagner's family of that conclusion July 8 — the same day they told Antigo police that Hopfensperger was cleared and able to return to duty.