“I hope you’ll excuse me if I have to kill you guys” 75-year-old Wisconsin man
A 75-year-old Wisconsin man reportedly took out his handgun while drinking whiskey with his friends and told them, “I hope you’ll excuse me if I have to kill you guys” before opening fire.
Brent Hofman, of Shawano County, was arrested and charged with first-degree intentional homicide for the fatal November 2025 slaying, which left 67-year-old Ricky Roundy dead inside a garage, according to a criminal complaint.
The other man who was with Hofman and Roundy at the time of the shooting, identified in the complaint as “Victim #2,” told investigators they had known Hofman for “over 10 years” through hunting on adjacent properties.
The surviving witness told police that Hofman “just starts to shoot for no reason,” striking Roundy and causing him to “go down.” The man said he fled and then locked himself in a building on the property and grabbed a .22-caliber rifle to defend himself, while calling 911.
“Victim #2 indicated Hofman is ‘a bit weird’ and a ‘hermit sort of dude,'” according to the complaint, but they “never had issues with him” and “talked [about] deer” regularly. The three of them were at a home the Town of Germania when Hofman allegedly carried out the killing.
“Victim #2 stated he and [Roundy] were at Victim #1s residence when Brent Hofman, who lives down the road, arrived with a pistol and had been drinking,” the complaint explains. “Victim #2 stated the three men had a few cocktails and talked about deer hunting and there were no issues. He stated the three of them were all in Victim #1s detached garage. Victim #2 stated that Brent randomly starts saying something about, ‘Killing you guys.'”
“This comment was out of the ordinary and Hofman had never said something like that during that evening or any other times they were together,” the document alleges. “Victim #2 stated neither he or Victim #1 said anything that would aggravate or upset Brent to cause him to do this.”
Hofman proceeded to pick a pistol up from the bar and told his two buddies, “I hope you’ll excuse me if I have to kill you guys,” the complaint says.
Court records show that Hofman entered pleas of not guilty on Thursday in Shawano County Circuit Court. He is due back in court on July 8.
