A man deer hunting on Chappaquiddick Saturday morning was accidentally shot by a member of his own party, marking the second time in a less than a week that someone was mistakenly shot in a hunting season that has been marked by minor mishaps.
The accidental shooting last Saturday occurred just before 11 a.m. at a remote private property adjacent to the Cape Pogue Wildlife Refuge owned by The Trustees of Reservations.
Edgartown police said Ronald Drake, 67, a seasonal Edgartown resident from Pleasant Valley, N.Y., was hunting with two other experienced hunters — Peter Jackson, 65, and Robert Fountain, 64 — when he was accidentally shot in the stomach with a 12-gauge shotgun slug.
Mr. Fountain later told police the three men were hunting on a property owned by the Self family when he heard yelling from Mr. Jackson and Mr. Drake. He was about 300 yards away, and figured his friends had “shot a big deer,” the report said.
“When he made his way over to them he realized that Drake had been shot. He and Jackson then helped Drake out of the woods to Fountain’s truck and called 911,” officer Chris Dolby wrote.
Police and emergency medical responders were dispatched and were advised that Mr. Fountain was driving the injured party, later identified as Mr. Drake, from Cape Pogue toward the Chappy ferry. They encountered Mr. Fountain’s truck on the Dike Bridge Road.
Mr. Drake was transported by ambulance to the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital and later airlifted to a Boston hospital. His injuries are considered non-life threatening.
Mr. Jackson later told police he saw a deer running in the brush and took a shot, but did not see Mr. Drake in the background.
Police said Mr. Jackson was carrying an expired firearms identification card at the time of the shooting. The investigation was turned over to Sgt. Matt Bass of the state environmental police, who applied to the Edgartown district court for a charge against Mr. Jackson of possession of a shotgun without a proper firearm identification.
On the first day of shotgun season last Monday a Cape Cod man accidentally caught a piece of buckshot in the neck and was airlifted to Massachusetts General Hospital for treatment. The incident occurred when a large group of hunters were driving deer.
Last Wednesday morning Edgartown police responded to a report from the Vineyard Transit Authority of a shattered window in one of its vans. Transit authority administrator Angela Grant told she heard a loud gunshot just before anyone noticed the window was damaged. Police found a puncture hole in the seat next to the shattered van window.
Hunting is prohibited at the airport business park and around the airport.
“It’s kind of scary. We had people working in the parking lot. This is a business park, not a hunting ground,” Ms. Grant said.
Meanwhile, Chilmark police on Monday responded to a call about a hole found on the outside of a house on Chockers Lane. Police were called by the caretaker for the house; when officer Jeff Day arrived and investigated, he found a shotgun slug inside the house, and a spent casing outside.
State law prohibits the discharge of firearm, within 500 feet of an occupied dwelling, without permission from the owner.
Police are asking anyone with information about the shooting on Chockers Lane to call them at 508-645-3310.
Shotgun season ends tomorrow.
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