spectr17
10-22-2002, 12:58 AM
One dead in Otter Tail County hunting accident
Associated Press
Published Oct 8, 2002
PARKERS PRAIRIE, Minn. -- A rural Parkers Prairie man died early Tuesday after being shot while goose hunting in Otter Tail County.
Kent D. Snook, 24, was shot in the head while hunting with two relatives and two friends Monday evening in the Wrightstown Wildlife Refuge northeast of Parkers Prairie, authorities said.
Snook was flown to MeritCare Hospital in Fargo, N.D., and died around 12:15 a.m. Tuesday, according to the Otter Tail County sheriff's office.
Parkers Prairie is about 20 miles north of Alexandria in west-central Minnesota.
End article
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Fatal hunting accidents highlight need for safety
Doug Smith, Minneapolis Star Tribune
Published Oct 13, 2002
Hunting-related accidents and fatalities have declined dramatically over the past 40 years. The sport is safer than ever, boosted by mandatory firearms safety courses for juveniles.
That makes the two fatal hunting accidents that occurred last week all the more tragic, said Jeff Thielen, education coordinator for the Department of Natural Resources.
In the first case, 60-year-old Walter H. Beuning of Bemidji died after a shotgun carried by a 13-year-old companion accidentally discharged, striking Beuning in the back Oct. 6. Thielen said the juvenile, who possessed the required firearms safety certificate, was following the older hunter when accident occurred northwest of Bemidji.
Beuning was taken by ambulence to Bemidji North Country Hospital, where he died.
The other fatality occurred the next day near Parkers Prairie in Ottertail County and involved an 11-year-old who was hunting geese with a group of companions when a shot from his gun struck Kent Dean Snook, 24, of Parkers Prairie. Thielen said reports indicate Snook stood up as the 11-year-old shot. Snook was struck in the head and killed.
They were the first two fatal accidents of the hunting season, equalling the number of fatal hunting accidents that occurred all of last year.
Youths 12 and under can legally hunt small game in Minnesota without taking a firearms safety course. Youths 13 and older must possess a firearms safety certificate.
Thielen said the two fatalities underscore the need for adults to carefully supervise young hunters, even those who have passed gun safety courses.
"Kids still have a learning period," he said. Safe hunting practices are learned behaviors and need to be constantly enforced with new and inexperienced hunters, Thielen said.
He recommended that parents and adults make sure that youths are properly fitted with a shotgun or rifle, that those firearms operate properly and that the adults focus on the young person's hunt and not their own. Adults should consider not even bringing a gun along so they can devote their full attention to the young hunter, Thielen said.
In the 1960s, Minnesota averaged more than 14 fatal hunting accidents per year and often had more than 100 non-fatal accidents. In the 1990s, the state averaged less than three hunting-related fatalities per year and generally fewer than 45 non-fatal accidents.
Associated Press
Published Oct 8, 2002
PARKERS PRAIRIE, Minn. -- A rural Parkers Prairie man died early Tuesday after being shot while goose hunting in Otter Tail County.
Kent D. Snook, 24, was shot in the head while hunting with two relatives and two friends Monday evening in the Wrightstown Wildlife Refuge northeast of Parkers Prairie, authorities said.
Snook was flown to MeritCare Hospital in Fargo, N.D., and died around 12:15 a.m. Tuesday, according to the Otter Tail County sheriff's office.
Parkers Prairie is about 20 miles north of Alexandria in west-central Minnesota.
End article
================================================== ==========
Fatal hunting accidents highlight need for safety
Doug Smith, Minneapolis Star Tribune
Published Oct 13, 2002
Hunting-related accidents and fatalities have declined dramatically over the past 40 years. The sport is safer than ever, boosted by mandatory firearms safety courses for juveniles.
That makes the two fatal hunting accidents that occurred last week all the more tragic, said Jeff Thielen, education coordinator for the Department of Natural Resources.
In the first case, 60-year-old Walter H. Beuning of Bemidji died after a shotgun carried by a 13-year-old companion accidentally discharged, striking Beuning in the back Oct. 6. Thielen said the juvenile, who possessed the required firearms safety certificate, was following the older hunter when accident occurred northwest of Bemidji.
Beuning was taken by ambulence to Bemidji North Country Hospital, where he died.
The other fatality occurred the next day near Parkers Prairie in Ottertail County and involved an 11-year-old who was hunting geese with a group of companions when a shot from his gun struck Kent Dean Snook, 24, of Parkers Prairie. Thielen said reports indicate Snook stood up as the 11-year-old shot. Snook was struck in the head and killed.
They were the first two fatal accidents of the hunting season, equalling the number of fatal hunting accidents that occurred all of last year.
Youths 12 and under can legally hunt small game in Minnesota without taking a firearms safety course. Youths 13 and older must possess a firearms safety certificate.
Thielen said the two fatalities underscore the need for adults to carefully supervise young hunters, even those who have passed gun safety courses.
"Kids still have a learning period," he said. Safe hunting practices are learned behaviors and need to be constantly enforced with new and inexperienced hunters, Thielen said.
He recommended that parents and adults make sure that youths are properly fitted with a shotgun or rifle, that those firearms operate properly and that the adults focus on the young person's hunt and not their own. Adults should consider not even bringing a gun along so they can devote their full attention to the young hunter, Thielen said.
In the 1960s, Minnesota averaged more than 14 fatal hunting accidents per year and often had more than 100 non-fatal accidents. In the 1990s, the state averaged less than three hunting-related fatalities per year and generally fewer than 45 non-fatal accidents.