Hunter Kills Self After Fatally Shooting Friend

KillShot

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Minuteman
May 25, 2010
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Tulsa, Oklahoma
What a tragedy. I can't begin to imagine the shock and horror of finding your friend dying from your misplaced shot.

This all goes back to hunters safety course basics. Make DAMN SURE you know what you're aiming at before squeezing the trigger.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">A Vermont man took his own life Saturday after accidentally killing his friend in a deer hunting accident, police said.

Authorities said they believe 49-year-old Timothy Bolognani, of Readsboro, Vt., killed himself with a hunting rifle after accidentally shooting his friend, 39-year-old Benjamin Birch, while the two were hunting for deer Saturday morning, the Bennington Banner reported.

The two men were reportedly hunting in woods about a mile west of Howe Pond Road in Readsboro with another friend, identified as Mark Colford.

Police said that when they responded to the scene, they found Bolognani and Birch dead from gunshot wounds, according to the newspaper.

Investigators said Birch shot at a deer, which then ran through the woods. The three men tried to track the animal, police said, and at some point Bolognani fired his rifle.
Birch was heard crying out before Bolognani and Colford found him lying on the ground, where he later died, the newspaper reported.

Bolognani, the son of former state Rep. Betty Bolognani, then shot and killed himself with his own rifle, police said. No foul play is suspected.

"These guys were best friends and professional hunters," Birch’s mother, Jacqueline Clara Howe, told the Boston Herald. 

The hunting deaths were the second tragedy to hit the Bolognani family in the past two years.

Bolognani's 18-year-old daughter, Jessica, reportedly died in a snowmobile accident in Jan. 2010.

The teenager was struck by an oncoming snowmobile after falling from her own, according to the Burlington Free Press.</div></div>


Source - Fox News
 
Re: Man Kills Self After Fatally Shooting Friend

Can't speak to the particulars as it seems pretty obvious that Mr. Bolognani obviously felt like he had made a monumental mistake in shooting his friend. I had not read about his daughter's tragic death in winter 2010.

That alone would be tough to endure.
 
Re: Man Kills Self After Fatally Shooting Friend

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: queequeg</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Can't speak to the particulars as it seems pretty obvious that Mr. Bolognani obviously felt like he had made a monumental mistake in shooting his friend. I had not read about his daughter's tragic death in winter 2010.

That alone would be tough to endure.

</div></div>

Agree. I just can't imagine how you shoot a person thinking it was a deer.
 
Re: Man Kills Self After Fatally Shooting Friend

He was probably shooting at a deer, and his friend was beyond and ended up being his backstop.

Many things could have happened, but mistaking his friend for a deer was probably not what happened.
 
Re: Man Kills Self After Fatally Shooting Friend

terrible way to go, heart breaking for both families. cant fix stupid and there must have been some stupidity in that plan some where.
 
Re: Man Kills Self After Fatally Shooting Friend

Starkville, MS --MHP officer shot his buddy in primitive weapon season. Don't know all details but I think he is in trouble.
 
Re: Man Kills Self After Fatally Shooting Friend

Yeah, I couldn't imagine losing a child....I'm 31, and when I was 5, my best buddy was accidentally killed by his father when he fell off an open cab tractor while they were shredding. 4 years ago, the father committed suicide....said he couldn't handle the loss anymore.
No telling what that hunter had going on upstairs when he killed himself.