Bullet from hunting rifle strikes 2 brothers; 14-year-old dies

A 14-year-old boy was killed when a rifle discharged while he and his brother loaded a deer into their truck Monday evening near Hartford, according to the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission.

The 14-year-old and his 19-year-old brother were hunting in southwest Sebastian County when the shooting occurred shortly after sundown, Game and Fish Commission spokesman Keith Stephens said.

The older brother also was shot but is expected to survive, according to Stephens.

The Sebastian County sheriff’s office responded to the scene, and authorities said one of the brothers was flown to a hospital while the other was taken by ambulance.

Capt. Philip Pevehouse, a sheriff’s office spokesman, said the case was handed over to the Game and Fish Commission after it was determined to have been a hunting accident.

Investigators determined the brothers had shot a deer and were loading it into a truck around 5:30 p.m. when a rifle that was leaning against the truck fell and discharged, striking the siblings, according to authorities.

The bullet entered the 14-year-old’s back, passed through his body and struck his older brother in the shoulder, Stephens said.

The Game and Fish Commission said the accident was the second hunting fatality this year. There have been eight accidents during the 2020 hunting season, with six of those involving falls from deer stands, Stephens said.

Last year, there were 22 hunting accidents and two fatalities, according to the agency.

The investigation is ongoing, Stephens said.