Minnesota man arrested for fatally stabbing teenage boy while hoseing down

A Minnesota man was arrested Monday for allegedly killing a teenager and injuring four others while boarding a river tube in Wisconsin.

Nicolae Miu, 52, claims he reportedly punched himself in self-defense during an encounter sparked by a lost phone in the water on Saturday in the popular Apple River water hose destination.

His stabbing attack killed 17-year-old Honor List student Isaac Schuman.

Miu was charged with one count of first-degree murder and four counts of attempted first-degree murder.

After his arrest, Miu told an investigator “they attacked me” and “I was in self-defense mode,” reported MPR News, citing a criminal complaint.

Miu, who was water tubing with his wife and others, was using a snorkel to search for a lost phone in a waterproof container when he came across others, MPR News reported. He was at one point accused of “looking after little girls” and being a “child molester” when members of the group surrounded him after he grabbed youths’ water hoses, KARE 11 reported, citing the complaint.

Video of the incident then shows the group moving toward Miu, who fell into the water, the complaint said. Before a tuber could apparently shove him again, the suspect stabbed him with a knife and then attacked others, KARE 11 court documents show.

A witness reportedly said Miu swam up to the group and gave them “really weird and sketchy looks,” and at least two people told authorities the altercation became physical because Miu punched a young woman in the face.

Prosecutors believe Miu could have escaped the situation before it escalated, KARE 11 reported.

In addition to his self-defense argument, Miu also claimed the knife used in the attack did not belong to him and told authorities his life is now “out of joint,” CBS Minnesota reported.

The local news station also reported that his lawyer described the incident as a “chance encounter”.

All of the victims who survived their stab wounds were in their early 20s, the local sheriff’s department said Sunday. The suspect was located 90 minutes after the attack because witnesses took photos of the suspect and provided them to the authorities.

Meanwhile, the fatal victim’s family remembered aspiring high school grad Isaac Schuman as someone who had an “incredibly bright future ahead of him.”

“We are all heartbroken and devastated beyond words that his future has been tragically and senselessly cut short,” the family said in a statement to KARE 11.

Miu was held on $1 million bail after a court hearing Monday and could face life in prison if convicted of murder, MPR News reported.