A hunter shot and seriously injured a hiker near St. Louis, Missouri, on Saturday, with police stating that the hunter mistook the man for a turkey. "It sounds like it was just a really bad accident," a police spokesperson said, with the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reporting that it came on the second-to-last day of spring turkey hunting season. The Missouri Department of Conservation was running the hunt, and a sign near the entrance to the Lewis and Clark Trail warned that would be held until 1pm; the shooting occurred at 12:30pm, NBC News reports. Emergency responders had to use a utility vehicle to reach the unidentified hiker, who was airlifted to a nearby trauma center. He and the hunter remain unidentified.
The hunter was dressed in camouflage, and witnesses did not report whether the hiker was wearing bright colors. "It may have been an accident, but it is positively unforgivable that they allow people to hunt with firearms on Mother's Day weekend on one of the most heavily traveled trails," a local runner who uses the trail told the Post-Dispatch. "They need to mark that differently. There were families out there today with kids and dogs." (Read more stories about shootings.)
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