A hunter has died after he was shot in the face by a friend, an official with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources said on Saturday.
Seth Egelhoff, 26, of Illinois, was shot by someone in his hunting party while seeking waterfowl in the Bays Branch Wildlife Area in Iowa, officials said.
Authorities arrived on the scene at around 1pm on Saturday and rushed Egelhoff to a spot to be picked up by a medical helicopter.
But the 26-year-old did not survive the journey and died en route. The law enforcement arm of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources is now investigating his death.
The Guthrie County Sheriff’s Office and the Iowa State Patrol are assisting in the investigation.
Conservation Officer Jeremy King said the shooting appeared to be accidental.
The wildlife area is about 40 miles northwest of Des Moines.
Egelhoff is the second hunter to be shot in Iowa since last month.
Last month, an Iowa man died after being shot while hunting coyotes with friends. The Iowa Department of Natural Resources said that 53-year-old Mark Arends was struck by a single rifle shot.
Meanwhile, last week, a man was accidentally shot while hunting in neighboring Minnesota. The man survived but officials said his hunting partner was checking to see if his firearm was unloaded, but accidentally fired a round into the victim’s leg.
Jamie Cook, a hunting education coordinator for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, urged hunters to take safety measures and remember the “Ten Commandments of Firearm Safety.”
“Some of the big ones are always treating every firearm as if it were loaded and then keeping your muzzle pointed in a safe direction would be the second one. And then making sure of what is in front of and beyond your target,” he told KCRG.
