66-year-old Cheryl Blair, of Norton, Massachusetts was walking her two dogs on a wooded trail behind her four-acre property when she was shot by a local hunter who mistook her dog for a deer.
In the 911 call released by Norton police 50-year-old John Bergeron, Cheryl's neighbor who is also a state trooper, is heard telling the dispatcher "She's out here with two golden retrievers. I just had a deer come by and I thought it came by again."
Bergeron was hunting in the closing minutes of hunting season. He called 911 at 4:55 p.m. Under state law, hunting is permitted for 30 minutes after sunset, which was at 4:24 p.m. that day.
Cheryl's family report that she will have a permanent limp from the fragmented bullet in her fractured pelvis. She remains in the hospital in stable condition.
No charges have been filed against Bergeron. Police have called the incident an accident and say Bergeron is a licensed hunter and no laws or hunting license violations occurred.
Cheryl's husband said hunters need to be careful about their target before shooting.
Ohh shoot.
"No charges have been filed against Bergeron. Police have called the incident an accident and say Bergeron is a licensed hunter and no laws or hunting license violations occurred."
ReplyDeleteWow. I guess you can get away with shooting at anything that moves in Massachusetts without being held accountable, if you're a hunter. Never mind that a hunter is responsible for identifying what they are shooting at. Pitiful.