Accidental shooting leaves hunter dead
Jay Allen Howard, 42-years-old of Goose Creek, S.C., was killed during a deer hunt Saturday, Aug. 29. Howard was shot by another hunter, according to the SCDNR.
The hunt took place on St. Helena Island at a private hunting club. About 20 hunters (some were members of the club and others were guests) were participating in a dog drive. All of the hunters were wearing orange safety vests. Hunt organizers had dropped off Howard and a 30-year-old woman who has not been identified. Shortly after, at about 4 p.m., a buck ran across an open area between the two hunters. The woman fired at the deer twice with a shotgun.
A buckshot pellet from one of the shots hit Howard in the chest. When the other hunters realized he’d been shot, they called 911.
“Based on preliminary interviews and evidence from the scene, it appears that perhaps the man who was killed had not yet walked all the way to his assigned stand from where he was dropped off, which would have placed him out of range of the other hunter,” said SCDNR’s media release.
Other reports state that Howard may have walked back to his truck and was reentering his designated hunting area. Some witnesses stated the woman was fairly new to hunting and that standing brush between the two hunters impaired her from seeing Howard. He was pronounced dead by the Beaufort County Coroner’s Office.
The incident is under investigation, but is being treated as an accident, according to SCDNR. No charges have been filed, and none are expected to be.
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