10-year-old deer hunter shoots man in buttocks while unloading rifle, MN sheriff says

A 50-year-old man who took a young child deer hunting was accidentally shot through both buttocks, according to a Michigan sheriff’s office.

The Hubbard County Sheriff’s Office said the pair had gone out during the youth deer hunting season early Sunday, Oct. 22.

After they got back to the truck in Helga Township., the man told the 10-year-old hunter to unload the deer rifle, authorities said.

“While trying to unload the bolt action Ruger .270 caliber rifle, the youth squeezed the trigger while (the man) was standing in the line of fire,” according to an Oct. 23 news release shared on Facebook.

The bullet struck the man and went through both of his buttocks, authorities said.

The sheriff’s office received a call about the shooting at 9:56 a.m. that Sunday, according to the news release. Arriving deputies found the man “bleeding from gunshot wounds.”

He was taken to an area hospital by ambulance, authorities said, then he was airlifted to a hospital in Fargo, North Dakota, “due to the seriousness of his injuries.”

McClatchy News is not naming the man to protect the identity of the child. Authorities did not say how the hunters knew each other.

Helga Township is about 100 miles northeast of Fargo.

This story was originally published October 24, 2023 at 7:20 AM with the headline "10-year-old deer hunter shoots man in buttocks while unloading rifle, MN sheriff says."