One dead, one injured after shooting near Marty

MARTY — A 47-year-old man is dead and another is reportedly in critical condition as the result of a shooting Monday night at a trailer home near Marty on Yankton Sioux tribal land.

Tony Fischer Sr., 47, was killed in the shooting and his son, Dominic Fischer, whose age has not been released, is reportedly in critical condition at Avera McKennan Hospital in Sioux Falls.

The suspected shooter, Dancing Bull Fischer, 23, was arrested Tuesday morning and has been charged with second-degree murder, according to a complaint filed Tuesday afternoon in U.S. District Court.

U.S. Attorney’s Office spokeswoman Ace Crawford said Dancing Bull Fischer is scheduled to make his initial court appearance later this week in Sioux Falls.

According to an affidavit prepared by Federal Bureau of Investigation Special Agent Michael Melcher, the alleged murder happened at approximately 12:58 a.m. at the residence of Frank Fischer Sr. where at least seven people, including the alleged shooter and his victims, were present. The affidavit lists the others present as Frank Fischer Sr., Frank Fischer Jr., Elaine Arrow and Sabre Fischer.

The affidavit provides two accounts of the shooting as told to Bureau of Indian Affairs Special Agent Brian LaCompte by two of those present at the home during the incident: Frank Fischer Jr. and Elaine Arrow.

Frank Fischer Jr. told LaCompte he had been drinking alcohol at another location earlier Monday evening before returning to the residence where the shooting occurred, where he turned down offers from those at the home to continue drinking, the affidavit says.

At approximately 12:55 a.m., Frank Fischer Jr. was in bed with Arrow, his girlfriend, when “his attention was drawn to the voice of Dancing Bull Fischer yelling through the bedroom door words to the effect, ‘They are messing with dad,’ ” the affidavit says. Dancing Bull Fischer, Tony Fischer Sr., Dominic Fischer and Frank Fischer Sr. were among those drinking at the residence, the affidavit notes.

Frank Fischer Jr. got out of bed and was followed by his girlfriend when he heard “four or five gunshots” as he approached the living room of the home, where he allegedly saw Dancing Bull Fischer holding an assault rifle pointed downward, with Tony Fischer Sr. and Dominic Fischer lying on the floor nearby, the affidavit says.

Dancing Bull Fischer then offered the weapon to Frank Fischer Jr. and said words to the effect of “here, take a shot,” the affidavit says, but Frank Fischer Jr. declined and took the rifle from Dancing Bull Fischer, who left the residence a short time later.

Arrow told LaCompte she was sober and in bed with Frank Fischer Jr. when she heard Dancing Bull Fischer yell through the bedroom door. Arrow was concerned for children in another bedroom of the residence when she followed Frank Fischer Jr. out of the bedroom and heard the gunshots and “saw flashes of light and sparks from the living room,” the affidavit says.

The affidavit does not say how many children were present during the shooting.

Law enforcement was dispatched to the residence at approximately 12:58 a.m., the affidavit says, and shortly after Charles Mix County Deputy Travis Debuhr arrived and found Tony Fischer Sr. unresponsive with an apparent gunshot wound to the head and “exposed brain matter.”

Tony Fischer Sr. was pronounced dead at the scene at approximately 2:35 a.m. by Charles Mix County Deputy Coroner Chad Peters, the affidavit says.

Dancing Bull Fischer is a registered member of the Yankton Sioux Tribe, the affidavit says.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office declined to provide any details beyond what was provided in court documents.

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