November 9, 2011
From Boston.com
LISBON, N.H.—Separate shootings on opening day of New Hampshire's
firearms deer season left a Massachusetts hunter dead and second
hunter injured, authorities said Wednesday.
Kenneth Brunelle of Marlboro, Mass., was hunting with his father
and brother when he was shot at about 8 a.m. in Lisbon, in northern
New Hampshire, said Department of Fish and Game Lt. Brian Suttmeier.
The 31-year-old Brunelle died at the scene, Suttmeier said.
Brunelle's death was only the fifth hunting-related fatality in
the state in the last 15 years, officials said.
A second hunter, 65-year-old Dan Mullen Sr., was shot in the
buttocks by a fellow hunter who was firing at a deer shortly after 4
p.m. in Pittsfield, Lt. Jim Juneau said. His injuries weren't
life-threatening, and he was able to walk out of the woods, Juneau
said.
Brunelle was shot by a 48-year-old New Hampshire man who was
hunting alone, Suttmeier said. Authorities are interviewing him, and
state police are investigating. Suttmeier wouldn't say where
Brunelle was struck.
"It's imperative that hunters know what they're shooting at and
what's beyond what they're shooting at," Suttmeier said.
No charges have been filed; Suttmeier said officers are still
collecting evidence and plan to present their case to the Grafton
County attorney, who would decide whether to press charges.
The last hunting-related death in New Hampshire happened on
opening day of muzzleloader season in 2009, officials said. The
hunter was killed when his muzzleloader discharged shortly after he
had gotten into his tree stand.
The department said New Hampshire has a good record for hunter
safety, largely attributable to mandatory hunter education and the
increasing use of blaze orange clothing by hunters. The average
number of hunting-related incidents per year has decreased steadily
since the state instituted the hunter education requirement for
first-time hunters in the 1970s.
