The Maine Warden Service is investigating a hunting-related shooting in Oxford on Saturday afternoon that left a man in his 30s seriously wounded.
Cpl. John MacDonald of the warden service said the victim, who suffered wounds to his arms, is from the town of Paris and the man who fired the shot is 21 and from Oxford.
Both men were in a four-person hunting party in the woods about a quarter-mile off Number Six Road, near the intersection with Plains Road, when the shooting occurred about 2 p.m., according to MacDonald. The four men all know each other, he said.
MacDonald said the investigation was only a few hours old by nightfall Saturday and the warden service will continue to look into the circumstances that led to the shooting.
He declined to say what type of gun was used in the shooting and did not provide any further information on the victim’s condition beyond saying the shooting wasn’t fatal. The victim was taken to Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston and MacDonald said he likely was still being treated in the emergency room as of 6 p.m. Saturday. Hospital officials typically assign a condition when a patient is admitted, after treatment in the emergency room.
MacDonald said the victim will be identified Sunday and the shooter will be identified only if he is charged. The warden service will consult with the Oxford County District Attorney’s Office to determine if charges should be filed, he said.
Saturday was the last day of the hunting season for deer in Maine with most types of firearms.
The incident on Saturday came nearly a month after a fatal hunting-related shooting in Oxford County.
Karen Wrentzel, 34, of Hebron was shot and killed Oct. 28 in Hebron on the first day of the deer hunting season for Maine residents.
Robert Trundy, 38, of Hebron was charged with manslaughter early this month in connection with the shooting. He told game wardens he thought he saw part of a deer before firing, but said he didn’t see an outline of a deer or have a clear view of a deer, according to an affidavit filed in the case by a game warden.
In such investigations, wardens usually attempt to determine whether a hunter clearly identified a deer before shooting and had a mostly unobstructed view of the animal.
Wrentzel’s shooting death was the first fatal hunting incident in Maine since November 2012 in Wales. State officials said the number of hunting-related injuries in Maine has fallen sharply in the past 30 years. They attributed the drop to mandatory hunter education courses and a requirement that hunters wear blaze orange clothing so they stand out in the woods.
There were four hunting-related firearms injuries in Maine last year, three of which were self-inflicted, state officials said. Over the past decade, Maine has averaged fewer than seven hunting-related shootings a year, with nearly half self-inflicted.
Edward D. Murphy can be contacted at 791-6465 or at:
emurphy@pressherald.com
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