Page 12 - IAV Digital Magazine #540

iAV - Antelope Valley Digital Magazine
An Oregon man trying to protect his home from a bear instead fatal- ly shot his brother by mistake, then turned the gun on himself moments later, authorities say.
The man called 911 about 7 a.m. Tuesday and told dispatchers he had “accidentally shot his brother while loading a gun” after being startled by the bear, according to Josephine County Undersheriff Travis Snyder.
“This is a terrible set of circum- stances that took place,” Snyder said. “It’s a tragedy.”
Deputies rushed to the Placer Road home
in Sunny Valley, an unincorporated community off Interstate 5 about 20 miles north of
Grants
Pass. There they found a man dead from a gunshot wound.
They checked the rural residence, which sits in a gulch just south of wooded hills, and
found
a second man dead. He had died of a self- inflicted gunshot wound, the under- sheriff said.
Sheriff’s officials did not immedi- ately identify
either
man.
They declined to specify the type of firearm used.
While no bear was found at the scene, deputies examined the bul- let trajectories
and
other physical evi- dence, Snyder said, and heard obvious signs of distress in the recorded 911 call. The undersheriff is confident the initial shooting was accidental.
“I would never be surprised to see a bear in that partic- ular part of our county. We have bears everywhere down here,” Snyder told The Oregonian/Orego nLive. “This time of year is when they’re getting out of bed and look- ing for things to eat.”
Oregon is home to some 25,000 black
bears, according to the Josephine County Parks Department, which warns resi- dents living in “bear country” to keep food and garbage secured and to slowly walk away if approached by a bear.
Oregon State Police and local deputies continue to investigate the shootings.
iAV - Antelope Valley Digital Magazine
Oregon Man Preparing To Shoot Bear Accidentally Kills Brother, Then Fatally Shoots Self: ‘It’s A Tragedy’