Survivor denies six hunters shot dead fired first shot

THE man suspected of shooting six hunters to death agrees with a survivor that the tragedy began with a confrontation on private land. But they sharply differ on what happened next.

Survivor Lauren Hesebeck told investigators Chai Vang, 36, of St. Paul, Minnesota, started shooting his rifle from 40 yards away after a verbal exchange.

But Vang, who earned a sharp-shooter qualification badge with the California National Guard, told police he began firing only after one of Hesebeck’s hunting party, Terry Willers, shot at him with a rifle from about 100 feet away and missed.