A Georgia man is accused of fatally shooting a teenager he mistook for a deer while they were hunting illegally.
In a press release, the shooting happened in the wooded area near 578 Myers Hill Road on Sept. 28 where a group of hunters gathered to hunt for the day.
The Brunswick News reports 32-year-old Hector Romero-Hernandez and 17-year-old Bobby Lee Lane were illegally hunting out of season last month when Romero-Hernandez said he thought he’d seen a deer in the woods.
Lane went into a heavily foliaged area, and he was then allegedly mistaken for a deer, according to the press release.
Reports state Hector mistakenly shot Lane, then upon realizing his mistake he drove the injured 17-year-old hunter to a nearby gas station. From there, first-responders immediately transported Lane by ambulance to a medical facility.
According to the Brunswick News, they took Lane to the Southeast Georgia Health System’s Brunswick hospital.
Lane succumbed to his injuries and died at the hospital, according to Action News Jax.
Romero-Hernandez is now charged with misuse of a firearm resulting in serious bodily harm as well as hunting with an unlawful weapon and two license violations.
Glynn County Police said that Lane had been shot from a rifle, according to Action News Jax.
According to Georgia Wildlife hunting regulations (pdf), deer hunting from Sept. 14 to Jan. 12 is the bow or archery season. The firearms season does not begin until Oct. 19, and also lasts until Jan. 12, along with the archery season.
A GoFundMe Page had been set up for the 17-year-old hunter to help the family pay for funeral expenses.
The Associated Press and Paula Liu contributed to this report.
