MADISON, Wis. — Wisconsin authorities have released the name of a sheriff's deputy who fatally shot an eighth-grade boy on a Native American reservation.
The state Department of Justice says Ashland County Sheriff's Deputy Brock Mrdjenovich shot 14-year-old Jason Pero on the Bad River reservation Wednesday after Pero approached the officer with a butcher knife and refused to drop it.
Authorities say Pero lunged at Mrdjenovich twice. Mrdjenovich fired, hitting the boy twice.
An investigation shows Pero called 911 to report a man with a knife, then described himself to dispatch. Authorities say evidence shows he'd been despondent.
His grandparents told The Associated Press that Pero went home from school ill Wednesday, but they didn't know why he left the home. Relatives questioned whether he had a knife. Authorities said one was found at the scene.