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Teen cited for accidentally shooting house while deer hunting

(File Photo/County 17)

A teenage boy has been charged with reckless endangering after he reportedly shot a house while hunting deer north of Rozet this past weekend, authorities said Monday.

Deputies were dispatched to Louie Lane on Oct. 24 after receiving a report from a 49-year-old homeowner who said that an errant rifle round had struck his house after a teenager shot at a deer with a .308 rifle, according to Paul Pownall, a lieutenant with the Campbell County Sheriff’s Office.

The teenager, a 13-year-old male, told deputies that he had shot a deer from 76 yards away, after which the round ricocheted and impacted the 49-year-old male’s house, damaging some of the siding, Pownall said.

During the investigation, deputies located the spot where the teenager had taken his shot and noted that the line of fire had not been clear at the time of the incident.

Houses could be seen behind where the deer had been standing and children could clearly be seen playing outside around them, Pownall said.

Deputies cited the 13-year-old male for reckless endangering and the scene was turned over to investigators with the Wyoming Game and Fish Department (WGFD), who could be seeking additional charges for a possible wildlife violation, according to Pownall.

The deer had been shot in Resident Deer Hunt Area 18, an area that closed to General Hunting for any whitetail deer and antlered mule deer on Oct. 20, according to the WGFD.

Of the three valid licenses for this area, one remains effective for the 2021 hunting season and it only permits the taking of doe or fawn white-tailed deer on private land until Oct. 31.

The investigation is currently ongoing.

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