Toddler shot in neck INSIDE HOUSE by huntscum

November 17, 2008

By KEITH GOLDBERG

Also by Michele Haskell

November 17, 2008

SWAN LAKE — A toddler was wounded in a hunting accident on a rural Sullivan County road Sunday afternoon, according to neighbors.

The incident occurred around 4 p.m. State police confirmed Sunday night that they are investigating a hunting accident but declined to release any additional information.

According to neighbors, the toddler was staying with grandparents in a mobile home on Horseshoe Lake Road. A hunter was in a tree stand on adjacent property, approximately 500 feet from the house.

Neighbors said the hunter shot a deer once, wounding it, then got out of the stand and shot again. One of the bullets traveled over an open area, hit the house and the boy inside in the neck.

The boy was taken to Catskill Regional Medical Center, then flown to Westchester Medical Center in Valhalla. His condition was not known Sunday night.

State police and state Department of Environmental Conservation police were searching the area — approximately six miles southwest of Liberty — with flashlights and a K-9 unit. Rifle hunting season for deer and bear opened Saturday.

State law prohibits hunters from discharging a weapon within 500 feet of a dwelling unless they own or lease the property it's on, are an immediate member of the family or an employee, or have the owner's consent.

kgoldberg mhaskell John Sullivan contributed to this report.