‘There’s just no excuse’: Nighttime hunter shot woman thinking he heard deer, deputies say

A young South Carolina man is charged with fatally shooting a woman and injuring her husband while the couple was on a nighttime walk. Kristofer Kelle McDonald, 20, allegedly thought, based on the sounds of leaves and branches, that he heard a deer, according to the arrest warrant obtained by Charleston CBS affiliate WCSC.

Instead, deputies said he struck Lori Wind, 54, and her husband.

The South Carolina Department of Natural Resources said that Wind, who they did not name, died at the scene, while her husband was taken to a hospital.

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“Kristofer Kelle McDonald, 20, has been arrested and charged by the Dorchester County Sheriff’s Office with assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature and involuntary manslaughter,” they wrote. “We have also charged McDonald with criminal negligent use of a firearm resulting in death, criminal negligent use of a firearm resulting in great bodily harm, and night hunting. This remains an active investigation.”

The shooting reportedly happened Tuesday night on Sawmill Branch Trail in the town Summerville at about 8:15 p.m. McDonald had been out illegally hunting, deputies said. He was armed with a 20-gague shotgun, and opened fire three or four times, they said.

Investigators claim they were able to identify him as the suspect because of information from an informant. McDonald surrendered and admitted he was in the area of the shooting at the time of the incident, they said.

“You need to always be aware of any collateral damage that could occur in the process of using that weapon, and the capabilities of the weapon is important because each weapon has a particular set of capabilities,” Chief Deputy Sam Richardson of the Dorchester County Sheriff’s Office reportedly said.

He said that the town recommended people not use the trail after dark. He also recommended that anyone in the county going out after night have clear lighting.

“Just make sure you’ve got clear lighting, you know, where you’ve got some lighting available, be it, I would say, reflective tape or something like that, so that if you lose visibility, that you’re seen,” he said.

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