Children are victims as fatal shootings rise
By Rob Pavey | Outdoors Editor
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Hunting accidents spiked in Georgia during the 2007-08 season,
and four of the five fatal incidents involved children or teenagers.
"This has been an unusual year," said Wildlife Resources Division
Capt. James Bell, who is the coordinator of the state's Hunter
Safety Program. "We've never had that many kids in accidents in the
last 10 years."
The season's five casualties included an 8-year-old boy killed by
a shotgun blast; a 12-year-old boy who shot and killed his father; a
14-year-old killed while squirrel hunting; and another 14-year-old
shot and killed by his brother, who mistook him for a deer.
By comparison, the 2006-07 season included one fatality caused by
a fall from a tree stand -- and no fatal shootings.
With 350,000 hunters, Georgia rarely goes an entire year without
accidents, Bell said. However, both the number of incidents and
fatalities have declined significantly since hunter education
programs became mandatory in 1978.
Authorities investigated 21 serious accidents during the 2007-08
season that included -- in addition to the five fatal shootings --
four non-fatal shootings and 12 tree stand accidents.
Here are brief summaries of each fatal accident, based on
Wildlife Resources Division incident reports obtained by The Augusta
Chronicle through Georgia's Open Records Act:
- Nov. 23: Zachary Gibson, 14, was shot and killed while squirrel
hunting in Harris County with 15-year-old Jon Riley and another
friend. "On the way home they were just shooting at brush in the
woods. The shooter (Riley) was asking the friend a question and
pulled the trigger, accidentally shooting the victim (Gibson)." The
firearm was a .22-caliber rifle.
- Oct. 19: An 8-year-old boy, Casey Price, died after shooting
himself in the chest with a .410 gauge shotgun. The Wayne County
child "was on a golf cart hunting birds with a 410 shotgun; victim
was alone when incident occurred."
- Nov. 4: Jake Burkett, 14, was shot in the back and killed by
his 18-year-old brother, Justin Burkett, while hunting in Coffee
County. The official cause: "Mistook brother for game."
- Dec. 28: John Peacock, 39, was shot and killed while hog
hunting in Dodge County with his 12-year-old son, who was placed
alone in a tree stand. "Father was coming back to stand to get son;
son mistook him for game and shot his father."
- July 12: While letting his beagles run rabbits, and carrying a
shotgun only "to shoot snakes," 82-year-old Earl Davenport of
Chattooga County tripped while crossing a barbed wire gate. "His
foot became entangled in the barb wire causing him to fall. As he
fell the gun discharged." The chest wound was fatal.
Bell said accidents can occur anywhere -- and affect anyone.
The Coffee County accident involving brothers, he said, was
particularly distressing. "It's very ironic that the young fellow
that got killed went through hunter education twice -- once when he
was 10 and later on with his brother."
With proper adult supervision, hunting remains a wonderful
pastime for kids -- and offers parents an opportunity to teach gun
safety at their own pace.
"Accidents happen when someone makes a poor choice," Bell said.
"Muzzle control and target identification are the two big things.
Following those two rules would curb a lot of the accidents."
Parents, he added, must remember that children are still
children, even if the child has passed a firearms safety course.
"A parent's rules and regulations should always be more stringent
that any state law," he said. "Sometimes we want our kids to be
grown before they're grown. But they are still kids and they need us
to direct them in everyday life. And that translates to hunting."
In South Carolina, where hunters are required to wear orange only
on wildlife management areas, three fatalities were reported during
2007, according to Lt. Jim Wagers of the Department of Natural
Resources.
Two fatal shootings occurred during deer hunts (Dec. 31 in Union
County and Nov. 23 in Williamsburg County). Neither victim was
wearing orange.
A Union County man also died in a tree stand fall.
Reach Rob Pavey at 868-1222, ext. 119 or
rob.pavey@augustachronicle.com
GEORGIA HUNTING FATALITIES
2007-08 = 5
2006-07 = 1
2005-06 = 4
2004-05 = 4
2003-04 = 1
2002-03 = 4
2001-02 = 10
From the Sunday, January 20, 2008 edition of the Augusta
Chronicle
