Hunter says he thought he saw deer, accidentally shot friend

OAK HILL, Fla. (AP) – A hunter told sheriff’s dispatchers that he mistook his friend for a deer while hunting at a ranch in central Florida.

Volusia County Sheriff’s spokesman Gary Davidson tells the Daytona Beach News-Journal that a distraught 56-year-old Leeshawn Sutton called 911 Wednesday afternoon to report the shooting.

Sutton and 65-year-old Bruce Best were hunting at the ranch when Sutton fired. He was weeping as he talked to the dispatcher, saying “I thought there was a deer.”

A sheriff’s helicopter helped guide deputies to the scene in a heavy wooded and swampy section of the ranch. Best was declared dead at the scene.

No charges have been filed.