(Photo: Wisconsin DNR)
The state Department of Natural Resources says a deer hunter is dead, following an incident in Columbia County during the opening weekend of the nine day gun hunt.
DNR warden Jon King says the 39-year-old man from Alaska was shot Sunday morning when the rifle he was handing to a woman in a tree stand went off. The victim was later pronounced dead at a Madison hospital.
The shooting, which is the state’s first gun-related fatality during the deer hunting season since 2012, remains under investigation.
Also this weekend, two people were injured by firearms in separate incidents. In Marathon County, a 14-year-old male shot his 26-year-old hunting companion while trying to de-cock a rifle. In Rock County, a 16-year-old shot himself in the leg after falling asleep in a tree stand. Both injuries were non-life threatening.