BRUNSWICK, Ga. (AP) -- Authorities in Georgia have charged a man accused of fatally shooting a teenager he mistook as a deer while they were illegally hunting.
The Brunswick News reports 32-year-old Hector Romero-Hernandez and 17-year-old Bobby Lee Lane were hunting out of season last month when Romero-Hernandez shot Lane, believing he'd seen a deer in the woods. A police report obtained by the outlet says Romero-Hernandez told officers he heard rustling and shot at a branch that he thought was a deer's horns. He fatally struck Lane in a nearby tree stand.
Romero-Hernandez is charged with misuse of a firearm resulting in serious bodily harm as well as hunting with an unlawful weapon and two license violations.
Natural Resources Law Enforcement Capt. Chris Hodge says the investigation is ongoing.