A rural angle on recent Wisconsin tragedy?

After our discussion in class yesterday about crime and policing in rural America, I was struck by the New York Times coverage of the shooting this past week-end in Crandon, Wisconsin, population 2,000. I noted the "very local" status of the 20-year-old police officer who, while off-duty, shot 7 teenagers, including his former girlfriend, before taking his own life. The story indicates that his strengths (a sometimes helpful sort, voted "Best Cop" by the current high school senior class) and weaknesses (known for a bullying personality) as a law enforcement officer were well known in the community. He was, in short, very much one of them.