Police: Costumed Pa. girl mistaken for skunk, shot...

How is the "male relative" not in the hospital beside her? If someone shoots one of my kids, it goes far beyond an "oops, my bad." That guy would have fallen over his shotgun a couple of dozen times, and he would still be recovering long after she was better! Nobody in the family would dispute that story.

I don't think he deserves jail, but he definitely deserves pain (physical, tangible pain, not just guilt), and he should never own another firearm the rest of his life, and he ought to be moving to a new town.

I can tell you from personal experience, in fact this happened just about 2 weeks ago, that it is easy to mistake an animal for a human or vice-versa, even in broad daylight. Just depends on the circumstances, the shape of terrain, size and variation in vegetation, etc...

Who shoots at a harmless skunk though? What an a-- oh, maybe I can't say that here. Has he been arrested? Shooting a gun at a living thing for no good reason can't be qualified as an accident.

Originally posted by Tearman
I can tell you from personal experience, in fact this happened just about 2 weeks ago, that it is easy to mistake an animal for a human or vice-versa, even in broad daylight. Just depends on the circumstances, the shape of terrain, size and variation in vegetation, etc...

Who shoots at a harmless skunk though? What an a-- oh, maybe I can't say that here. Has he been arrested? Shooting a gun at a living thing for no good reason can't be qualified as an accident.

Skunks aren't harmless. Besides the smell, they also carry rabies.

But in this case...I've never seen a 4 feet tall skunk.

Who shoots at any sort of animal at a Halloween party for Christ's sake? It's a party with kids around. What was this idiot doing with a loaded weapon around these party people?

To one of the posters above who stated that animals can appear as human...er...no. I'm 56 years old and have hunted all my life and have never, ever even come close to thinking that a deer, rabbit, squirrel, opossum, raccoon, beaver, turkey, duck, geese, dove, fox, coyote, wolf or even a bear standing up resembles a human being.

There are people who hunt or own guns that do not take the time to study and practice in order to prove themselves to be responsible gun owners. Just because you can buy a gun doesn't mean you know what to do with it.

Originally posted by muse7
Perhaps people should have more self control?

Who the hell shoots at a skunk? I live out in the suburbs and we get a lot of raccoons, skunks and even the rare coyote and I have never had problems with them. I just leave them alone and they leave on their own.

People need to have more self control instead of shooting at anything that moves.

I'm with you on this.....

Several times in the past I have been walking my dog and come up on a skunk, well the dog more or less not me, and of course when I yell "stay, get back", thank goodness my dog listens. Fortunately, we've never been sprayed....yet.

But I see no sense in shooting a skunk with a shot gun, especially if it's up a hill. I just don't get it.

Krazy is all I can say.

This is an up-date from FOX:

ROCHESTER, Pa. – Police say a Pennsylvania woman shined a flashlight for her son to help him shoot what they thought was a skunk but was really his 8-year-old cousin in a black-and-white Halloween costume.

The girl was hospitalized Monday in critical condition following Saturday night's shooting in Rochester, a rural area just northwest of Pittsburgh where hunting is common.

New Sewickley Township police Chief Ronald Leindecker says the woman told officers she was hosting a Halloween party when she heard there was a skunk nearby and asked her son to shoot it.

www.foxnews.com...

This seems to get worse by the second.

The Beaver County Times reports the chief says 24-year-old shooter Thomas Grant is "devastated" by what happened. No one answered the door of the Grant house Monday afternoon. No charges have been filed.

reply to post by snarky412


I've had that happen also. And, even if you do get sprayed, it is just some stink. It sucks, but its pretty funny, and the majority of it comes off with a tomato juice and/or oatmeal bath. Some of it will linger for days, maybe even a week or two, and I've always just thrown the clothes away and not bothered trying to wash them out. Its a skunk, not a grizzly bear, it doesn't require a shotgun, over the hill, in the dark, hoping to hit something you've barely even identified, and with no idea what is behind it.

Suppose it was a skunk, and the little girl was standing just down the hill. Same result. Why risk it?

I've used my shotgun in my yard to shoot a Moccasin, and I've used it as a flashlight when investigating a noise, but NOBODY should be shooting without being 1 million percent sure what they are shooting at, and what is beyond that, and what is within ricochet distance to either side. If it is a rabid wolf, or an oozing zombie, then shoot it, but if it is just a slight nuisance, it is NOT worth the risk!

reply to post by darkhorserider


I still can't believe that they can mistake the size of a girl with that of a skunk. I just don't get it.

And now, the young man that shot her thanks to his mom insisting that he kill "it" while she's holding the flashlight looking for it, will have that on his conscience for life.

reply to post by snarky412


Well, hopefully she'll fully recover, and he won't have to live with this for life. I know people who have shot family members while hunting, and luckily the injuries were minor, and it became a pretty good joke.

I hope the girl is not scarred physically or emotionally. If there is a strong family support, they should all get by this. I don't think they should have guns though. I'm a pro-gun guy, but guns are not for everyone, and something like this should void their right.