Authorities in Vermont are releasing additional details on the member of the Vermont National Guard and his family is making an announcement as they look for answers behind the tragic sh*ooting of a Wheelock man on Monday.
According to the Vermont State Police, 27-year-old Gunnar Watson was found d*ead in his Route 16 house on Monday morning at 6:30 a.m., having been the victim of a homicide.
Although Watson’s home door was boarded up on Wednesday, family members we spoke with stated they are still looking for answers regarding the terrible mu*rder.
“My daughter called to report a problem. The incident ended when I found him on the kitchen floor,” said Tracy St. Louis, Watson’s father-in-law. I’m just a little surprised that something like this could occur. Anyone who knew him—the same question arises—what type of relationship existed that would have contributed to this?
“There is no reason for us to think that someone is returning to hurt our family further. We are unsure of the cause of this senselessness. Watson’s mother-in-law, Elizabeth St. Louis, remarked, “We have no idea.”
According to his commander, Watson was a rising star in the Vermont Army National Guard, having finished the Airborne Ranger and Sniper School in just two years. According to a statement from Vermont National Guard Capt. Max Kennedy, “Sgt. Watson consistently demonstrated exceptional physical and mental prowess, epitomising the ideal of the quiet professional, and earned the admiration and respect of his peers and superiors.”
Watson departs from his spouse and two young children, ages five and fourteen months.
Tracy remarked, “We haven’t yet encountered someone who didn’t like him as a person, a soldier, or someone that they worked with.”
Residents in the neighbourhood are still being asked by the police to monitor their game or home security cameras and to report anything odd.
State police are currently looking into two s*hooting de*aths in the Northeast Kingdom, including the Wheelock case. Officials reiterated on Wednesday that they believe there is no connection between the cases.
