There are no “accidental” shootings, only careless.
A 30 year old man and his 9 year old daughter are dead in South Carolina after being shot by other members of their own hunting party. The two dead were herding deer for a planned shoot.
Thus far, the coroner and others have given no indication whether the two were wearing bright fluorescent colours (deemed “optional” in South Carolina), and whether the killer made any attempt to have a clear view before shooting. Given the unwillingness to address either point, I suspect the worst on both.
By Live 5 Web Staff | January 6, 2020 at 12:18 PM EST – Updated January 6 at 1:21 PM
COLLETON COUNTY, S.C. (WCSC) – Details from the autopsy report were released Monday in the Colleton County hunting accident which left a father and daughter dead on New Year’s Day.
According to coroner Richard Harvey, both 30-year-old Kim Drawdy and 9-year-old Lauren Drawdy died from buckshot pellet wounds to the chest.
The pair were killed on New Year’s Day in a wooded area on Barracada Road near Walterboro.
An SCDNR spokeswoman said the Drawdys and two other hunters were deer driving, moving deer near to the area where they were set up to hunt.
According to DNR officials, one of the hunters mistook the Drawdys for deer and shot and killed them. Investigators have not said why the victims were mistaken for deer.
You have to wonder how someone shoots without knowing what’s in range, without communicating with the others, without planning the entire event. And if the father didn’t put on fluorescent clothes, WHY not?
I grew up in a rural area where hunting was a really big deal. Like, they closed school for the first day of hunting season, and most of the teachers just played movies for the rest of the week, because so few of the kids actually showed up.
And every year, I would hear stories about how this or that person almost shot their hunting buddy, because they heard a noise and fired at it. And pretty much every year, at least one person was wounded by hunters. And the victims were always blamed – for wearing red or blue, cause that somehow makes them look like a turkey, for wearing white or brown, because then you look like a deer. And even if they were wearing blaze orange safety vests, they were still blamed for being out during hunting season.
It’s both irresponsible firearm use, and poor hunting form – how can you make sure you have a decent killshot if you can’t even see what you are shooting at?
But, this really bothers me about so many firearm owners, is they are completely irresponsible about their firearm usage, and even when someone dies due to their negligence, there are rarely any repercussions for the firearm user. IMHO, simply failing to obey the firearm safety rules should get their “right” to bear arms suspended for a certain amount of time, after which they have to take so many hours of safety training before they can regain that right. And if they injure or kill someone through their negligence, that should be a lifetime ban on firearm ownership.
sorry, I get really mad about this stuff…
It’s understandable. Anyone who would shoot without knowing what they’re shooting at shouldn’t have a gun.
I have never used a firearm, but I have used motorcycles and scooters. I’ve seen people renting whose first question is, “where’s the accelerator?”, the worst thing to ask. I first ask, “Where’s the brake?”