8-year-old hunting chipmunks shoots uncle in ‘freak accident,’ New Hampshire cops say
A New Hampshire man is on the mend after his 8-year-old nephew who was hunting chipmunks fired a gun and mistakenly shot him, authorities say.
The 32-year-old was shot in the head Friday but is expected to be OK, the Milton Police Department said in a Facebook post.
The man and his nephew were shooting chipmunks when a bullet fired by the 8-year-old ricocheted after killing one of the rodents, hitting the man’s head, police said. He was taken to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
Milton Police Chief Richard Krauss said it’s legal to take young children hunting and called Friday’s incident “truly just a freak accident,” according to the Foster’s Daily Democrat.
“There are kids who learn how to hunt and shoot a lot younger than that,” Krauss told the newspaper. “Just be a little more cautious about your backdrop.”
There’s no minimum age for hunting in New Hampshire — but hunters under 16 years old must be accompanied by a licensed adult who’s at least 18 or older, according to the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department. The state also doesn’t require youth hunters to take a hunter education course.
This story was originally published June 29, 2021 at 10:03 AM with the headline "8-year-old hunting chipmunks shoots uncle in ‘freak accident,’ New Hampshire cops say."