A man allegedly shot dead a woman who was on a walk at night because he mistook her for a deer.
Kristofer Kelle McDonald, 20, was on a nighttime hunt in Dorchester County, South Carolina, on Tuesday night when he shot at Lori Wind, 54, and her husband, WCSC reported.
The couple were walking on a paved section of the Sawmill Branch Walking Trail in Summerville and were both struck around 8.15pm.
Wind was pronounced dead roughly two hours after being shot. Her husband was injured and in a condition not immediately disclosed.
A source tipped off McDonald as the suspect and he surrendered after admitting he was in the area when the shooting happened, according to Dorchester County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Sam Richardson.
McDonald was hunting after dark illegally and thought the leaves and branches rustling were deer, stated an arrest warrant obtained by WCSC. He fired three to four rounds using a shotgun.
‘There’s just no excuse for anybody being careless with a firearm, and certainly perhaps someone paid a price with their life,’ said Richardson. ‘There’s just no excuse for that.’
Richardson said it was illegal to fire a gun and hurt people, but would no say if McDonald had a hunting license.
State law requires that hunters be at least 300 yards away from residential neighborhoods.
‘You need to always be aware of any collateral damage that could occur in the process of using that weapon, and the capabilities of the weapon is important because each weapon has a particular set of capabilities,’ Richardson said.
McDonald has been charged with involuntary manslaughter, assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature, criminal negligent use of a firearm causing death, criminal negligent use of a firearm causing great bodily harm and night hunting, said South Carolina Department of Natural Resources spokesperson Stephen Fastenau.
He was being held at the LC Knight Detention Center before appearing in court on Thursday and posting a $400,000 bond. McDonald has been ordered to refrain from all hunting activities.
Richardson advised Summerville residents to not go on trails at night.
‘Just make sure you’ve got clear lighting, you know, where you’ve got some lighting available, be it, I would say, reflective tape or something like that,’ he said. ‘So that if you lose visibility, that you’re seen.’
Winds was killed nearly a year after a disabled hunter in Adams County, Wisconsin, accidentally shot a woman walking her dog after thinking her pet as a deer without antlers. The woman was airlifted to be treated for a gunshot wound in her abdomen, and her dog was not injured.
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