Charges are expected to be filed against a 19-year-old who allegedly shot and killed Nicholas Lee Caldwell while hunting turkey on Tuesday, state Division of Natural Resources investigators said.
"When you're turkey hunting, you're not required to wear blaze orange like you are with other hunting seasons because turkeys can see color," he said. "Sometimes one hunter will confuse another hunter [with a turkey]."
Both teens were wearing camouflage, Fayak said.
"The cardinal rule of turkey hunting is to positively identify the object you're shooting at as a bearded turkey," he said.
Caldwell was shot with a 12-gauge shotgun. Pellets were found in his head and body, Fayak said.
The accident happened near Caldwell's home on private land owned by Brady Shaffer. Caldwell had permission to hunt there, Murphy said.
Stewart said the incident was probably a case of a hunter seeing movement and shooting before he clearly identified his target.
"Unfortunately, it turned out to be another hunter, and it killed him," he said. "It's a tragic accident."
State law requires that a hunter clearly identify a target before shooting, he said.
"We teach this in our hunter education classes," which Hardin had taken, Stewart said. However, any hunter is subject to getting what a lot of people call buck fever, he said.
"You get excited and your mind plays tricks on you and you see things that aren't really there," he said. "Take the time. Take a deep breath. ... It's not worth risking shooting another human being just to shoot a deer or turkey."
Staff writer Gary Harki contributed to this report.
To contact staff writers John McCoy or James I. Davison, use e-mail or call 348-1231 or 348-5119.
Charges are expected to be filed against a 19-year-old who allegedly shot and killed Nicholas Lee Caldwell while hunting turkey on Tuesday, state Division of Natural Resources investigators said.
Caldwell, 16, was in a wooded area off Kanawha Street near St. Albans when he was hit by shotgun pellets at about 8:30 a.m., said Hoy Murphy, spokesman for the DNR, which is investigating the incident.
People near the scene told investigators they saw 19-year-old Andrew S. Hardin, of St. Albans, hunting in the area. In an interview with officers, he later confessed he was the shooter, DNR officials said.
The accident happened on the second day of gobbler season, investigators said.
"After the shooting, when [Hardin] realized that he shot another hunter, he panicked and fled the scene," said DNR Capt. Stephan Stewart.
"At this point the evidence at the scene is consistent with the shooter's testimony," said DNR Conservation Officer J.E. Fayak.
Hardin will at least face a charge of negligent shooting of a human being. He may also face other charges, Stewart said.
Police struggled to retrieve Caldwell's body in the remote section of woods Tuesday.
The 16-year-old boy was found by a relative, Murphy said.
The teenager was hunting with a bow and was told to be back at a certain time, said Lt. Sean Crosier of the Kanawha County Sheriff's Department. When he didn't return, the family member went into the woods to find him.
Hardin likely mistook the boy for game, because turkey hunters often wear camouflage, Murphy said.
"When you're turkey hunting, you're not required to wear blaze orange like you are with other hunting seasons because turkeys can see color," he said. "Sometimes one hunter will confuse another hunter [with a turkey]."
Both teens were wearing camouflage, Fayak said.
"The cardinal rule of turkey hunting is to positively identify the object you're shooting at as a bearded turkey," he said.
Caldwell was shot with a 12-gauge shotgun. Pellets were found in his head and body, Fayak said.
The accident happened near Caldwell's home on private land owned by Brady Shaffer. Caldwell had permission to hunt there, Murphy said.
Stewart said the incident was probably a case of a hunter seeing movement and shooting before he clearly identified his target.
"Unfortunately, it turned out to be another hunter, and it killed him," he said. "It's a tragic accident."
State law requires that a hunter clearly identify a target before shooting, he said.
"We teach this in our hunter education classes," which Hardin had taken, Stewart said. However, any hunter is subject to getting what a lot of people call buck fever, he said.
"You get excited and your mind plays tricks on you and you see things that aren't really there," he said. "Take the time. Take a deep breath. ... It's not worth risking shooting another human being just to shoot a deer or turkey."
Staff writer Gary Harki contributed to this report.
To contact staff writers John McCoy or James I. Davison, use e-mail or call 348-1231 or 348-5119.
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