A tragic hunting accident at a Texas ranch claimed the life of 9-year-old Callen Little, who was accidentally shot by his grandfather while they were hunting pheasants. The boy left the stand as the birds were being released, which inadvertently put him in the line of fire.
The fatal accident happened around 10 a.m. on Saturday, during a controlled pheasant release, reported Fox 4 News. His grandfather, 55-year old Jim Bob Little, who owns Nine Bar Ranch, accidentally shot Callen as the birds were being released.
"He'd left the stand for some reason and then the birds were released and when they shot, they shot into the direction where the boy was, and he was struck in the chest," said Wise County Sheriff David Walker. "It's a tragedy. No one wants to see any kids hurt no matter what it is."
Though the incident is currently under investigation, the fatal accident just seems to be a very tragic, heartbreaking incident, according to Inquistr.
Rod Townsend, the Decatur school superintendent, shared his grief over the accident, describing Callen as a very endearing child. "I can't imagine anything worse than this," he said. "There's probably no such thing as a perfect child, but he was as close as they'd ever seen. It's been a tough couple of days."
"His teacher even said he was on his journey to doing amazing things," added Townsend. "There was not a doubt in her mind that when he got to high school, he was going to be mister everything."
Callen's family created a GoFundMe page in memory of the young boy. The page has raised over $39,000 so far.
"There is nothing more heartbreaking than the death of a child," wrote Callen's aunt on the GoFundMe page. "It is unfair that our Callen was taken away from us after only nine short years but, here we are today with great sadness that we say goodbye to our LITTLE MAN."
"We can't dwell on the sadness or keep asking the question 'Why?' We will never find a reason why such a smart, cheerful and beautiful child was taken from our lives at an age of only 9," continued the aunt. "Instead, we should focus on how happy he made us when he was in our lives and the impact he had on all of us. We will miss Callen forever and will always remember his smiles, dimples and for the young man he was."
Authorities stated that the Nine Bar Ranch has had an impeccable safety record.
