Another Tragedy That Could Have Been Avoided

From the May 29, 2007 Madison, Wisconsin Capital Times:

Even after Daniel A. Kelly fired two warning shots, Austin Bodahl continued to pursue him, knocking Kelly down and punching him repeatedly in the head, according to a criminal complaint filed today in Dane County Court.

Kelly ended the fight with a fatal shot from his .22-caliber Derringer, authorities say.

Bodahl, 23, of Waconia, Minn., had just arrived in Madison on a whim two weeks before he was shot dead on State Street on May 22 shortly before midnight.

Kelly was charged today with first-degree reckless homicide and made his initial court appearance on the charge this afternoon.

"I fired three warning shots and they kept coming at me," a criminal complaint quotes Kelly telling a bouncer at City Bar, 636 State St., "so I aimed at his stomach and I got him in the chest."

Police said the gun was actually fired only three times, with one bullet still in the chamber when the gun was recovered.

Kelly, 31, was a schizophrenic who had not been taking his medication, Assistant District Attorney Mike Verveer said at Kelly's initial court appearance today.

Arguing to maintain the $100,000 bail set last Friday, Verveer said Kelly poses a threat if let out of jail.

"We do have concerns that an obviously unstable man was armed with a handgun on State Street and used it with tragic results," he said.

Kelly is a diagnosed schizophrenic who has been off his medication, Verveer said. He said he told Canadian immigration authorities as much when he was turned down entry four times in four days into the country in late 2005. Verveer said he told immigration personnel that people were trying to kill him, and he wanted to tell Canadian authorities about it.

An Army veteran who served in Germany and Bosnia, Verveer said Kelly was living largely off of veterans benefits.

...

According to the complaint:

Bodahl and two other men, Travis Verastegui and Carl Provin, were speaking with Kelly in the 600 block of State Street when Bodahl and Kelly began arguing, according to a witnesses. Then Bodahl approached Kelly as Kelly was seated on a concrete flowerbed, and tried to punch him in the head, but missed.

Kelly, a familiar presence on State Street who wore a green kilt, got to his feet and walked backward as Bodahl pursued, throwing numerous punches. Witnesses reported hearing two popping noises, and Bodahl continued advancing on Kelly as Kelly walked backward onto State Street.

In 1960, Kelly would have been in a hospital, rather than out on the street with a gun, getting into arguments.