Editor’s note: Nicolae Miu was found guilty of one count of first-degree reckless homicide and four counts of first-degree recklessly endangering safety shortly after this post was published.

A mass stabbing in Wisconsin captures America’s growing generational conflict.

Nicolae Miu, a 54-year-old Romanian immigrant, stabbed five youths tubing down the Apple River in 2022. One of the victims died. Miu was charged with one count of first-degree murder and four counts of first-degree intentional homicide. (Jurors are allowed to consider lesser charges against Miu.) If convicted, the assailant could face life in prison.

His trial has captured the nation’s attention, particularly among conservatives, due to his claims of self-defense. Miu claims he only used his pocketknife after he was swarmed and attacked by a mob of young adults. It’s a complicated case that sharply divides people.

Here’s what happened, according to court testimony. Miu was tubing with friends down the river. (Curiously, his group was entirely Hispanic and nearly all of them required an interpreter in court). One of his friends accidentally dropped his phone in the river. Miu offered to find it. His friend told him not to worry about it, but Miu insisted on searching for it. He separated from his group with his snorkel and goggles to find it. Miu told police he was drunk at this time. While searching for the phone, he came upon a group of youngsters whose members were in their late teens and early twenties. The older man rushed at them in an odd manner, which the group perceived as an intrusion into their space. Miu had tripped in the river and dropped his snorkel gear near the group’s tubes. It appears this wasn’t clear to the youth, who then wrongly perceived that Miu was taking pics of “little girls” with his phone. The young adults, like Miu, were drunk. They then began clowning on the older man, surrounding him, and chanting he was pedo. They yelled at him to walk away. Miu did not.

As this was going on, Miu pulled out his pocket knife and brandished it. He got aggressive with one of the girls in the group. Some of the guys then pushed him down into the shallow water and slapped him. After another girl shoved him, he stabbed her. Other members of the group then charged at him, and he began stabbing away. Two of those he stabbed weren’t involved in the fight and were just standing in the way. Miu then ditched the knife and walked back to his own group without telling them what happened.

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