14yr old shot in Aitkin Cty. Mistaken for a deer by 45yr old man.

[Powerstroke]

(WCCO) Aitkin, Minn. A Buffalo, Minn. 14-year-old was killed in a hunting accident in Wealthwood Township, in southern Aitkin County, Saturday afternoon.

According to the Aitkin County Sheriff's Office, Brandon Mitchell Lanie was hunting with a group just north of Mille Lacs Lake when he was shot by a 45-year-old hunter from Maplewood, Minn.

Police believe Lanie -- who was wearing blaze orange jacket and pants at the time he was shot -- was mistaken for a deer by the other hunter, who is expected to be charged with second-degree manslaughter.

Lanie was pronounced dead at the scene.

The shooting happened just before 5 p.m. Saturday. Sunset in the area on Saturday would have been about 4:39 p.m. with twilight lasting until about 5:12 p.m.

This is from WCCO TV, I saw the story on Fox9 and they said he was shot in the head. They said he had a camo hat on but he was wearing blaze orange on the rest of his body. You can tell by the time that this boy was shot in the last 5-10 minutes of legal shooting time. Rarely is there enough light left to make a shot.

Lets all remember what we learned in hunters safety class. NEVER take a shot unless you know exactly what you're shooting at. I bet this hunter wishes he was going home empty handed instead of killing an innocent boy in an effort to fill a tag.

Be smart and be safe out there. ALways positively identify your target.

[Polar Bear]

Reminds me of an old jingle I repeat to myself every deer season: "All the whitetails ever bred aren't worth the cost of one man dead".

[harvey lee]

This happens every year and I truely just dont understand why.

How does one shot at a moving object without knowing what it is?

[Mark Christianson]

Oh my gosh.

My prayers out to the families of those involved.

[CO1978]

I do not understand how a person could possible make this mistake. Maybe it should be mandatory for a refresher coarse of Fire-arm safety evey 5 yrs. I would probably be the first to complain about it but if it could save one life it would be worth it.

[Bobb-o]

I have an idea for this, the DNR should raise license fees, but you can get a discount on your license if you take a hunter's safety course once every 5-10 years.

[Ufatz]

The charge should be negligent homicide!

[ovation62]

I took out my 14 year old son hunting with me sunday evening, his Mom was out of town and herd about it on the news but didnt here were it was so she was freaking out, called me and I said he is okay

I always tell him and everyone I hunt with dont pull the trigger unless you know for sure what you are shooting at.

You cant take back the boltet after it leaves the gun, take your time.

My thought are with that family and friends.. I so very sorry to hear about this..

[BDR]

Very very sad!!! My prayers go out to his family.

[Stratosman]

I can't even imagine.... Anyone know was this public or private land?

[chucker34]

My thoughts and prayers are with the family as well. I too, just don't understand how you can shoot at anything unless you can clearly see it!!! Someone I know made the comment, well maybe it was such a quick decision. It might have all happened so fast. There is no such thing as a decision in this instance. You don't even consider shooting at something you don't clearly see, period!!!

It just sucks that a whole life is taken away because somebody wanted a deer so bad they were willing to take pot shots in the dark (according to WCCO last night) at something they didn't even know was a deer.

This is exactly why on the way to stand on private land every gun season, I wave my flashlight all over the place and don't worry about making "human" sounds. You just never know who might be out there waiting to get their deer first. Any deer I scare away being so obvious is worth it to me!

[BigWadeS]

my thoughts and prayers go out to this family,

I almost got sick when I heard this on the news, I know this happens way too often and I can't figure out how...if it's that dark, if it's a shadow in the brush, if it's sound movements...WAIT...if it's moving it will come out...I mean the military with trained marksman with night scopes, wait to identify their target and their marksman...this should be Negligent Homicide instead of Man 2.

[so haaad]

This is the very reason why I do not gun hunt for deer anymore. Too many "non-hunters" getting out in the woods with guns and competing for deer. Sorry if I sound negative, but a 14-year old boy lost his life because of the irresponsibility of another. There is no reason this guy should have been shooting. I did hear that the guy who fired is in jail.

[MinnesotaMuskie]

Tragic, devasting, what can we do to try to understand the horror and ease the pain for this family.

I have 3 sons who are with me in the woods...I really do not even know what to say or do.

I do know that prayers always help.

[Borch]

What a horrible tragedy!

Such a terrible mistake made that cuase this to happen. I can't immagine being the person who was responsible for this.

My prayers go out to the family as well as the person responsible.

What a shame.

[jigging-matt]

This is terrible. I believe not to long ago there was a post about knowing what you are shooting. I don't care what time of day it was if the person had that much orange on you can see it especially at 100 yards. My prayers go out to the family. No matter what the punishment that is given out, the person will have to live with it for the rest of his life. If you don't know, don't guess, and definitley don't shoot.

[almostthere!]

My prayers go out to the family.

The trigger-happy guy needs to be locked up for good. We do not need his kind in the woods.

In order to shoot someone in the head, the shooter must be using a rifle scope and not iron sights. How in the world can any respectable hunter not tell that it is not a deer, with the aid of a scope? Better question is, how can any respectable hunter not see the blaze orange clothings? One can claim the rest of the kid's body might have been covered buy extra thick brush but brush is never uniformly thick; that with the fact that blaze orange lights up like a Christmas tree during twilight minutes, no hunter could not have not seen bits of orange flashing in the brush.

I have been shot at by noise shooters before, twice. These yahoo's need some good smackings and never be allowed to own a gun, bow, and/or sling shot for the rest of their pathetic lives.

O.K. I'm done.

[metrojoe]

Terrible tragedy. Everyone loses when this type of thing happens.

Sounds like this guy might have been shooting after hours. How can you shoot at noise or movement?

[Hines R]

What a Waste. One life lost and one life ruined! This seems to happen every year.

I don't know if it could ever be passed, but what if everyone wore a headlamp greenlight like they came out with this year if they we're moving about during lowlight hours. Before sunrise, and if your moving when it's getting late. Very few people would make the mistake of shooting at something with a light on it.

They say these lights don't scare deer. I think I'm going to start doing this, and in the future when my son is old enough to hunt with me we will both wear them.

Ryan

[Whoaru99]

Quote:

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The trigger-happy guy needs to be locked up for good. We do not need his kind in the woods.

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There is no excuse to be sure. But, I'd guess there's a pretty good chance the man will give up hunting/shooting activities.

[huntnfish]

A few years ago I was coming out of the woods after it got too dark to see. My stand was a good half mile from the edge of the woods. At the edge of the woods there was a 1/4 mile of CRP that I had to walk across to get back to my vehicle. I was about halfway across the field when the vehicle coming by slammed on its brakes. I didn't pay any attention until there were guys piling out of the vehicle and i could hear them jacking shells into their guns. It was at that time that I realized that I was the only thing out in that field. Luckily I had my flashlight within easy reach and got it turned on. They quickly piled back into the vehicle and took off. Ever since then I make sure the light is on when I am coming out of the woods.

[SledNeck]

Always a good idea to walk out with a flashlight especially if you are hunting around other people. Doesnt excuse people shooting other people, though.

[Heidi]

When I first heard about this trajedy, my first thought was an angry hunter shooting someone. Maybe because of the Wisc killings two years ago, maybe because of the road rage I see driving to and from work these days or maybe because I can't imagine anybody being so darn stupid aiming a firearm towards a target he can't identify clearly.I see and hear more stories about rising tempers, redneck poachers, baiting

and gut piles on people properties. A few people are ruining our traditions. Everybody pray for the family.

[Powerstroke]

I hope everyone reads this story and takes a little something away from it. We all need to remember to do the right things on our own, if everyone did that there would be far fewer problems.

I don't want this post to take a negative turn and become a "bash the shooter" post. It should serve to reflect on the loss of the innocent young man as well as learn from the shooter's mistake. I'm sure the hunter feels terrible. In the paper this morning it said the man knew the child. We all make mistakes, unfortunately some prove fatal.

Nobody is served by calling for this mans head. He needs prayers as much as the family of the boy. I know if I made this mistake, and I hope I never would, I would need just as much support as the family. Things like this happen every year and they are tragic. We just need to remember there are two victims here.

[charliepete2]

I saw this on the news and it just turned my stomach. I feel terrible for everybody involved, shooter included. I'm not judging anyone, but a couple of things came to mind. First, a camo hat can get you killed in deer season. The nicest warmest hat I have is a beaver fur hat that was given to me by my grandmother. I'd love to slip that hat on and sit in the stand toasty warm, but there are too many people out there that don't know how to properly identify a target. The same thought crosses my mind when I pack a blaze orange hankerchief instead of a white one.

The other thing already mentioned is wearing a headlight. I'm not sure if they spook deer or not, but I turn it on and wear it to and from the stand whether I need the light or not.