Authorities have closed the investigation into a deadly hunting accident that occurred in Clay County, Minn., on Nov. 9, determining that no charges will be filed.
“We don’t believe there was any type of recklessness or carelessness in this incident, just an unfortunate, terrible hunting accident,” Clay County Sheriff Mark Empting said this week.
The accident happened just minutes into rifle season northeast of Moorhead. Jace Srur, 34, of Dilworth, Minn., was shot in the head by a family friend from his hunting party.
“They had mapped out where everybody was going to be at, so everybody had an idea where everybody was sitting and everybody was hunting at mapped out (sites),” Empting said.
According to a letter from County Attorney Brian Melton, Srur moved from his designated location after it was believed he had shot a deer. Another hunter then fired a shotgun at a deer, unaware that Srur was in the direction of the shot. The hunters were 315 feet apart, and officials say the slug may have ricocheted through the trees.
“This round went through some trees, so it’s hard to say if it ricocheted off a tree or branch, what exactly happened,” Empting said.
Melton wrote that the hunters were experienced, took safety precautions and did not act negligently.
“A lot of hours go into these investigations, we want to get them right. For those advocates out there, I would say these people out there hunting were doing what they needed to do properly and correctly,” Empting said. “We feel that’s what the investigation found, sometimes when there’s trees in the way, you just don’t know what’s going to happen.”
A second hunting accident happened hours later in Norman County, Minn., where a hunter was shot in the face by a member of his party. He survived, and no charges were filed in that case.
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