WA: Bird hunter shoots self in face with shotgun

December 10, 2009

MOSES LAKE, Wash. (AP) - Grant County Under-sheriff John Turley says a 43-year-old Moses Lake pheasant hunter accidentally shot himself in the face with a shotgun.

Mitchell King was reported in serious condition Thursday in intensive care at Sacred Heart Medical Center in Spokane.

Turley says King and two friends were hunting Dec. 4 when one friend heard a shot, then saw King falling backward with his semiautomatic 12-gauge shotgun between his legs.

The Tri-City Herald says investigators think the gun likely fired when King put it between his legs as he was wringing the neck of a pheasant he just shot or was congratulating his hunting dog, which might have accidentally made contact with the trigger.

The under-sheriff says the blast hit King on the left side of his body, beginning at his hunting vest, and traveled along the left side of his face.

The sheriff's office first released information on the case Thursday.

Return to Hunting Accident Index

Fair Use Notice: This document may contain copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owners. We believe that this not-for-profit, educational use on the Web constitutes a fair use of the copyrighted material (as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law). If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond fair use, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

C.A.S.H.
P.O. Box 13815, Las Cruces, NM 88013
Phone: 575-640-7372
E-mail:

C.A.S.H. is a committee of Wildlife Watch, Inc.
a 501(c)3 Not-for-Profit Corporation.
Contributions are tax-deductible.