Teen fatally shot by 10-year-old during hunting trip

Associated Press
Published November 29, 2005

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PANAMA CITY, Fla. - A 13-year-old boy died after he was shot by a 10-year-old boy while deer hunting Sunday in rural Washington County.

Austin Richardson was shot in the left shoulder with a .22-caliber rifle. The boys were with 14 who were hunting in the Econfina Creek Wildlife Management Area, said Stan Kirkland, spokesman for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. The commission is investigating the shooting.

Everyone required to have a hunting license had one, each hunter was wearing state-mandated orange and no children were left unattended, Kirkland said. In Florida, children under 16 don't have to be licensed to hunt if they are with an adult.

"In an ideal situation, one (boy) shouldn't have been ahead of the other," Kirkland said.