A South Carolina woman and her husband were walking their dog when it was shot by a hunter – who mistook the dog for a deer while hunting illegally at night.
According to police, 20-year-old Christopher Kyle McDonald was allegedly hunting illegally around 8:15 p.m. Tuesday when he mistook the sound of rustling leaves for a deer near the Sawmill Branch Walking Trail in Somerville and fired his 20-gauge shotgun. Fired three rounds. , local outlets reported.
The Dorchester County Sheriff’s Office said 54-year-old Lori Wind was killed by a single shot, while her husband, who was shot multiple times, was hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries.
“There’s no excuse for anyone to be careless with a gun, and certainly someone probably paid for it with their life,” Chief Deputy Sam Richardson said during a briefing, local outlets reported.
“There’s no excuse for this.”
The shooting was a violation of state law – which forbids hunting more than an hour after sunset and requires hunters to maintain at least 300 yards from residential property.
The gunman suspect pleaded guilty Wednesday after seeing reports of his fatal mistake on the news and admitted to poaching illegally, according to an arrest warrant.
He was charged with involuntary manslaughter, assault and battery of a high and serious nature, criminally negligent use of a firearm resulting in death, criminally negligent use of a firearm resulting in great bodily harm, and hunting at night. South Carolina Department of Natural Resources announced,
McDonald was being held at the Dorchester County LC Night Detention Center until he posted $400,000 bond on Thursday, local outlets reported.
He is scheduled to return to court in December.
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