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A Florida man was hospitalized after a hunter mistook him for a turkey and shot him several times. The Bunnell Police Department received a call about someone getting shot from the 700 block of Old Haw Creek Road around 7:45 a.m. Sunday (March 17), according to a news release.
The caller, later identified as John Bennett, Sr., told dispatchers they thought they were shooting an animal in the woods. Police and Flagler County deputies found a man with gunshot wounds to his head and torso, and the victim was airlifted by helicopter to a hospital trauma center in Daytona Beach.
Investigators determined the shooting happened in a wooded area near Old Haw Creek Road. Officers also spoke to Bennett, who claims he was hunting for turkeys and was following three females. He told police he spotted what he believed to be a male turkey and opened fire with his shotgun.
The hunter then realized he shot a decoy in "low light," heard someone shouting they had been shot, and dialed 911. Bennett "expressed remorse" over the shooting and even led authorities to where the shooting happened, according to officials. Police also found a shotgun shell, a stake to secure the decoy, a turkey call striker, and "several small puddles of blood."
The Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission is leading the investigation.