Source: Africa Publicity
A 74-year-old Maryland man has been arrested and charged after authorities said he fatally shot a woman in Delaware while allegedly mistaking her for a deer during a hunting trip.
Walter Moorhead of Salisbury, Maryland, was charged with felony manslaughter and other offenses following the shooting Friday evening in a field near Ellendale, Delaware, according to Delaware State Police. ABC News also reported on the arrest and charges.
Police said the victim, 39-year-old Santos Maria Chilel Soto of Georgetown, Delaware, was walking through the field with a man and two children when she was struck by a rifle shot fired by Moorhead, who was hunting from a ground blind.
“The preliminary investigation revealed that the victim was walking through the field with a man and two children while Moorhead was hunting deer from a ground blind. Moorhead believed he saw a deer and fired his rifle, striking the victim,” the Delaware State Police said in a statement.
The shooting occurred at about 7:40 p.m. Friday.
Responding troopers administered lifesaving medical treatment before Soto was taken to a hospital, where she was later pronounced dead. Police subsequently took Moorhead into custody after their preliminary investigation “determined that he had fired the shot that struck the victim.”
Moorhead also faces three counts of first-degree reckless endangerment and one count of possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, according to police. The investigation remains ongoing.
