A man on an organized turkey hunt allegedly mistook another man hiking a Missouri trail for a turkey and reportedly shot him. The injured person has yet to be identified by authorities, and his current state is also uncertain.
According to The Kansas City Star, St. Charles County police were alerted and immediately responded to the Lewis and Clark Trail at about 12:30 p.m. on Saturday.
The man was removed from the wooded area using a utility task vehicle before being flown to a hospital with "severe, life-threatening injuries," according to Kyle Gaines, spokesperson for the St. Charles County Ambulance District. The authorities are currently investigating the incident.
Rescue workers used a utility-task vehicle to reach the wounded man, who was airlifted to an area trauma center in critical condition.
Another man, according to Brown, was dressed in full camouflage from head to toe nearby. According to the newspaper, she noticed that he was quiet and wielded a long weapon.
"It may have been an accident," Brown argued. However, she added that it is seemingly unforgivable to encourage people to hunt with guns and weapons on a Mother's Day weekend, especially on one of the most heavily traveled trails.
Brown told the Post-Dispatch, "It's so sad," that she saw first responders tending to a man on a stretcher who seemed to be unresponsive.
Nancy Phillips of St. Louis, according to a news report by Yahoo, told KSDK that she hikes in the area where the man was shot on a regular basis and dressed brightly so "no hunters mistake me for something."
On the last two days of the spring turkey season, the shooting took place. The Missouri Department of Conservation stated that the weapons season lasted from April 19 to May 9, from a half-hour before sunrise to 1 p.m.
According to KSDK, the man was shot during a turkey hunt organized by the Missouri Department of Conservation. The injured hiker has yet to be identified by authorities.
Gun Shooting Mistakes Over the Years
According to Aftermath, Specialists in Trauma Cleaning & Biohazard Removal, accidental firearms fatalities in 2018 made up 1% (458) of all gun-related deaths in the United States (39,740).
About 220 children had unintentionally shot each other so far in 2020. There have been 92 deaths and 135 injuries as a result of this.
During the coronavirus pandemic, shelter-in-place orders resulted in a significant increase in accidental shootings by children at home. As compared to the same months the previous two years, fatal accidental shootings increased by 43% in March and April. Around 77% of unintentional gun deaths occur at home.
According to Injury Epidemiology, firearm fatalities common scenarios include playing with the gun (28.3% of incidents), assuming the gun was unloaded (17.2%), and hunting. (13.8%).
In nearly a quarter of the deaths, the victim is surmised of having consumed alcohol, and in 46.8% of deaths for those aged 20-29, the victim is suspected of having consumed alcohol.
