Jason Laack, 22, was killed on the evening of December 18, 2016, at the Cattail Lodge on New Pinery Road in Portage, Wisconsin. Police say the incident began as a drug transaction; two men arrived to buy marijuana and an apparent dispute quickly turned violent. One of the men tried to shoot acquaintance Isaac Breedlove but the gun malfunctioned. Laack reportedly moved to shield Breedlove, and the weapon was then handed to Mario Brown Jr., who shot Laack. Officers found Laack on the ground with a fatal gunshot wound while Breedlove and Laack’s sister escaped to call for help. Law enforcement described the shooting as targeted.

Authorities identified 24-year-old Mario Brown Jr. of McFarland through his enrollment in a community re-entry program; he turned himself in the day after the shooting and was charged with first-degree intentional homicide. Investigators were also seeking a second suspect, described as a Black male in his early 20s with short dreadlocks, who was armed and believed to have been with Brown. Laack’s family experienced a further ordeal when the Columbia County District Attorney’s Office delayed release of his body for defense review; the body was released to the family in April 2017.