12-year-old dies after uncle accidentally shoots him while hunting, Minnesota cops say

A 12-year-old boy is dead after his uncle shot him while they hunted together, Minnesota officials told news outlets.

The Cass County Sheriff’s Office in central Minnesota said in a news release it responded to a call about a hunting accident at 8:19 a.m. on Sunday, Oct. 9.

Deputies arrived at the scene in a rural area near the town of Motley and found the boy seriously wounded but alive, the release said.

His family was visiting the area from St. Paul, according to investigators. He and his uncle, a 47-year-old St. Paul resident, were hunting squirrels on public land when the uncle shot him, apparently by accident.

The sheriff’s office did not say how the accident happened.

First responders loaded the boy onto a helicopter and he was flown to a hospital for treatment, the news release said.

He died at the hospital later that day, the sheriff’s office told news outlets on Oct. 11.

While the incident appears to have been an accident, deputies are still investigating.

The town of Motley is roughly 130 miles northwest of St. Paul.

This story was originally published October 11, 2022 at 2:55 PM with the headline "12-year-old dies after uncle accidentally shoots him while hunting, Minnesota cops say."