Sorry, left that fact out. He was using a muzzle loader.
The State Police are already saying he broke no laws. His weapons were licensed, his hunting license was valid, and he was not hunting outside of allowed hours. They are also saying that no internal discipline will occur.
It is notable here that these statements were made 2 days after the incident. An editorial in the local paper said the other day that there have been a couple dozen accidental shootings by hunters across the US in the last couple of years and not one of the investigations was closed anything like this quickly.
I have not seen any mention about permission to hunt on that woman's land. If he did not have permission that would be breaking the law in MA.
Now, on to my own opinions. There are some very upset people here in regard to the State Police investigation. I am not happy about it. He completely failed to identify his target or the area behind it. That is a serious gun safety failure. I assume the man carries a service weapon as part of his daily job. If he is not trained enough to know something that basic then I not only worry about his fitness to carry a weapon but also the other State Police who do as well. If he was so trained, and yet still cannot understand, then he personally is not fit to carry a firearm and should be removed from that aspect of State Police duty. I am not the only one in this area that feels that way and the sentiment is growing as it becomes clear there will be no discipline by the State Police.
Nondisciplined and unsafe hunters are a problem around here. We are the first surburban area south of Boston to have enough forest to support deer. Newbie hunters, and old guys who just don't know what they're doing, roaming around the woods with rifles is a real problem. I've run into guys wandering around near dusk, hurried, not even knowing where they are, trying to figure out where to set up unaware that they are on private conservation land or even on the grounds of a convent. They haven't scoped out their area ahead of time, they haven't figure out who owns it, they don't have permission, and they don't even know these things should have been done a month before deer season.
It's not a whole lot better during duck/goose or turkey season. We have turkeys all over the place and I fear one day someone is going to get blasted short range by some idiot hiding in a bush.
