Squirrel hunter accidental death....then suicide

R

Rembrandt

New member
This is sad.....guilt of shooting his partner must have been too much.


http://www.desmoinesregister.com/app...309190007/1001

Hunter accidentally shoots partner, kills self

ASSOCIATED PRESS • September 19, 2008

Woolstock, Ia. — Police say a man accidentally shot and killed his hunting partner in Wright County today, then committed suicide shortly after leading police to the body.

Officers were notified this morning that a man had accidentally shot his partner in a public hunting area north of Woolstock. The hunter took authorities to a heavily wooded area where the first shooting had occurred. While officers were searching for that victim, the second hunter died of an apparent self-inflicted gun shot wound.

Officers were close by when the second shooting occurred. Authorities said that no shots were fired by officers.

Police say there are no indications of foul play at this time. Both men have been identified, but their names are being withheld until their families have been notified.

Wright County Sheriff Paul Schultz said the men were hunting squirrels.
 
The link doesn't work.

For any LEOs on the board, this is a good example of why you disarm any shooting suspect, even if he's cooperative.

But, hindsight is always an exact science.
 
That's why you always know where the people you are hunting with are at at all times. I'm just guessing, but it sounds like this guy pulled a Dick Cheney move.

Me, I couldn't imagine the pain of shooting a good friend by accident.
 
Probably would have shown a lot more regret for shooting his hunting partner if he hadn't cleaned him and tagged him.:D
 
This really is a shame. The man was clearly emotionally crushed by his negligence and not thinking clearly. You would think observation would be standard policy for the individual that killed himself in a situation like this. I know it would have been when I was an LEO. Where I come from, policy would have dictated he be disarmed and then be taken into protective custody for 24 hours or until he could be turned over to a responsible family member.

PS: Does anyone else have an issue with these types of shootings being labeled "accidental" shootings? I think the term "negligent" shooting is more appropriate since I have never yet seen one that was not avoidable.
 
PS: Does anyone else have an issue with these types of shootings being labeled "accidental" shootings? I think the term "negligent" shooting is more appropriate since I have never yet seen one that was not avoidable.
Click to expand...

I think I would have to define an accident as an event that happens unexpectedly that was not planned or deliberate. Was this negligent, I would think so, but it was also an accident. I don't think we should be concerned so much with defining the event as negligent or accidental, instead we should maybe focus on what happened and how it could have been prevented. This is an unfortunate incident no matter how you look at it and we should all try to learn from this guys mistakes. Everytime we hunt we should be thinking safety first. No amount of meat in the freezer or trophy on the wall is worth another mans life.
 
"Accident" is a euphemism for this sort of event just like "accidental discharge" is for when a person has an unintentional discharge as a result of negligent gun handling.

If you want to call it an "accident" because it was unexpected, then why call it a "surprise death" instead. The word "surprise" better conveys the sense of the event not being expected, no? I can see it now. IHEA will have a category for "surprise killings" during the hunting seasons. Besides, "surprise" just sounds so much more festive than 'accident' too!

When one hunter unintentionally shoots another, it may be called an accident, but the surprise or accident was CAUSED by negligence. This is important. You want to focus on how to preclude such events in the future then you have to help make people realize that it is because of acts of negligence that people can and do die in these types of situations.
 
There are accidents caused thru negligence and there are accidents for which negligence may be a contributing factor.

This is one where perhaps negligence on the part of one or both parties caused an unintentional shooting. (A term that I think fits better.)

It was in the last year or two that two hunters were out deer hunting in the Sierras, I think. They were some yards apart (40-50 yards IIRC) and different elevations on the hillside. One partner took a shot at a buck as it started moving down the trail - and missed. He called to his partner and when the man didn't answer he went over to find him DOA. Freakishly, his round richoceted off a rock then off a flat rock at just the right angle to sent it into his hunting buddy. As far as I'm concerned, it was an unintentional shooting.

Was there negligence here? In hindsight, one might say so (know what's behind your target). But there is a limit to predicting all possible things too.
 
Associated Press - September 19, 2008 5:04 PM ET

WOOLSTOCK, Iowa (AP) - Authorities have released the names of 2 men who died in a hunting accident and suicide Thursday in Wright County.

Police say that Tan Khanmjoi, 44, was accidentally shot by his hunting partner, 48-year old Dee Phonvilai in a public hunting area north of Woolstock.

Phonvilai led authorities to the area where Khanmjoi had been shot. While officers were searching for Khanmjoi, Phonvilai died of an apparent self-inflicted gun shot wound.

Police say there are no indications of foul play at this time.

Wright County Sheriff Paul Schultz said the men were hunting squirrels.

Copyright 2008 The Associated Pre
 
* Update on this story.....rumors are the hunters were illegals who work in the area. The guy who committed suicide spoke very little English and may have been frightened at what the LEO's had in store for him. As illegals, possible they did not have hunting licenses and questions about how they got firearms would have been asked.
 
Iowa authorities as well as the DNR, will conduct a CSI type investigation. These take time as they have to get it right. Last year Illinoise had an incident where a hunter shot a man as well as the dog he was walking, through a state park. Took a lot of time to sort and review and the findings were somewhat surprising. I believe the hunter got off.

Unless I'm mistaken, the accidental shooting will be listed as a hunting accident and the suicide will not. At any rate, it's pretty sad expecially when Iowa has had no fatalities in the last few years. The findings will provide greater detail an include whether or not, they had any Hunter Ed.

Be Safe !!!
 
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