January 13, 2007
Authorities near Nashville are investigating a fatal hunting
accident in which the hunter's dog might be the culprit.
28-year-old Thomas St. Charles III, died at Vanderbilt University
Medical Center after he was shot.
St. Charles had been duck hunting on the Cumberland River
Thursday. He and his partner had finished for the day, were picking
up decoys and loading the boat.
St. Charles' had placed his loaded shotgun in the floor.
According to TWRA's lead investigator, his Labrador retriever jumped
into the boat and hit the trigger on the shotgun. It fired, blowing
a hole through the side of the boat, striking St. Charles' in the
abdomen.
TWRA officials said the case illustrates the need to always
unload firearms at the end of your hunt. They said that St. Charles
had passed the state's mandatory hunter education program.
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