A 17-year-old Wisconsin boy and four young adults have been stabbed while tubing on Apple River.
According to official documents, the five victims were tubing down a popular river around 3:45 p.m. on Saturday. A video which the case is heavily relying on shows a man named Nicolae Miu walking up to several people and grabbing at their tubes. After being yelled at to “go away” he walked off and seemed to be looking for something before turning and starting to leave. It was at this point, he walked toward a woman and bystanders could be heard shouting:
“He’s looking for little girls!”
Now, it’s unclear why they would make such an allegation, but mayhem and mob mentality soon broke loose. Many people began crowding around the 52-year-old on three sides and police confirmed “at least one person” touched the man on the shoulder. Since crowds were only on three sides of him, however, law enforcement concluded he had the “opportunity to leave the confrontation” but didn’t. It’s when two women confronted him did things take an even scarier turn…
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Per reports, the man pulled a knife and held it at his side with the blade exposed! Several tubers moved toward him to try and deescalate the situation and Miu fell backwards into the water. A bystander then slapped him in the face before he was able to return to his feet. A young man came up behind him and shoved him, but the older man began wielding the knife and stabbed him. He was shoved into the water on his back by another witness in an attempt to stop him, but eventually he got on his feet again and swung his knife around, stabbing five different people before he ran off.
Absolutely terrifying! These poor families were just trying to have some fun and it turned into a tragedy…
Among the five victims, four were young adults in their mid-twenties who were rushed to the hospital. One succumbed to his injuries at the scene — 17-year-old Isaac Schuman. Just heartbreaking…
Nicolae was able to escape the scene but was eventually caught by police and arrested near the river’s tubing exit. When questioned by police, he insisted he acted in “self defense” because he was being “attacked” and called a pedophile:
“They attacked me, I was in self-defense mode.”
He also alleges two people among the ones who attacked him had knives of their own and he thought he was going to die:
“I thought that was it for me.”
It’s unclear if these claims are true, but no reports have been made of anyone else having a weapon in the video. Once the man heard of Schuman’s death he simply said:
“Oh no.”
Oh no seems like a bit of an understatement…
Sondra Miu, who is his wife, told law enforcement her husband had only gone to search for a phone someone in their group had left behind. She alleges she “didn’t see anything happen” except for Nicolae being attacked.
The attorney representing Miu argued his client should have a bond set at $50,000, but as recent reports come out his bond has been set at a whopping $1,000,000. The 52-year-old’s next hearing is scheduled for August 12, and he is still currently in custody.
Longtime Apple River worker Chuck Ennis closed the river and all tubing activities on Sunday after the incident. He said in a statement to StarTribune he’s “never” seen anything so horrific. The small town itself hadn’t had any sort of stabbing incident in over 15 years, either:
“I’ve personally been doing this for 40 years and never, ever seen anything even close to this.”
Parents of the deceased teen spoke to KARE 11 and said their son was about to start his senior year and had “a bright future” ahead of him:
“He had an incredibly bright future ahead of him and we are all heartbroken and devastated beyond words that his future has been tragically and senselessly cut short. We very much appreciate the overwhelming outpouring of love and support from our friends, Isaac’s friends and the Stillwater Community.”
Just devastating…
The Schuman family has set up a GoFundMe for Isaac’s funeral expenses. If you’d like to donate to the family you can find the link here.
Our hearts go out to the victims and their families. What an awful and senseless situation.
[Image via YouTube/FOX 9 Minneapolis-St. Paul]
