10 year old boy in Md. Eastern shore dies from crossbow injury

[DougMD]

The news was quick to point out that this is the first season crossbows are allowed. The impression I got is the anti-hunting bias of the reporting.

Anyone get any details about what happened? Did his father shoot him accidentally?

[Grizzlybear]

Doug:

Here' s what I read on another board:

******************
From the Washington Post...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...03Oct26_2.html


Boy, 10, Dies in Hunting Accident

A 10-year-old Baltimore County boy was killed Saturday evening in an apparent hunting accident on the Eastern Shore in Talbot County.

Tyler S. Mattison of Perry Hall was killed by a crossbow arrow shortly before 6:45 p.m. while hunting deer with his father, said Heather Lynch, a spokeswoman for the Maryland Department of Natural Resources.

Lynch said officials are trying to determine how Tyler was shot. He was carrying a crossbow, and his father, Christopher S. Mattison, 39, was carrying a muzzleloader during the hunt.

****************
****************

By A Sun Staff Writer
Originally published October 27, 2003

Authorities are investigating the death of a Parkville fifth-grader killed by a crossbow while hunting in Talbot County on Saturday evening.
The victim, identified as Tyler Stephen Mattison, 10, a Seven Oaks Elementary School pupil, was shot while he and his father, Christopher Stephen Mattison, 39, hunted on private property along Norwich Creek Drive in Queen Anne.

Neighbors described the senior Mattison as an avid sportsman and his son as an animal lover.

" Oh my God, it' s sad. We' ve known him since he was born, and I saw them when they left to go hunting Friday evening," said the Mattisons' next-door neighbor, John Sparr. " How could the boy get in the way of a bow?"

Investigators from the Maryland Natural Resources Police were trying to answer that question, said DNR spokeswoman Heather Lynch. " This remains under investigation. All our investigators are all over it and trying to get to the bottom of what happened," she said.

Lynch couldn' t disclose whether the Mattisons were licensed to hunt deer.

**********************

This sounds like a terrible accident, and I think that we as hunters need to stand up first and say it the loudest that this kind of thing should never happen, and that we cannot tolerate irresponsibility.

I hate to think what the anti' s will do with this news.

[Lefty26]

I heard about this story the other day from a women that I work with that is an anti-hunter. We have had some discusions regarding hunting in the past and I have tried to express the benifits of hunting to her but she has us all labeled as dangerous bambi killers. Well she heard about this story and came up to me and told me about and said " see I told you hunting was bad, some poor 10 year old boy dead just because of stupid hunting" . My question is how do you respond to a statement like that?

[DougMD]

How about responding by saying that mulitples more people die in deer/car accidents every year than are killed while hunting, despite the fact that deer hunters harvest millions of deer a year. But for that harvest, MORE people would die from deer/car accidents than do now. Hunting SAVES lives, not to mention feeding the hungry who can' t afford their own food.

[Grizzlybear]

Good answer, Doug. And I would add that this is an example of one person' s gross irresponsibility and/or incompetance - NOT hunting itself.

[Broadhead88]

Not good however this happened.....

[Deleted User]

[Deleted by Admins]

[JeramyK]

It' s tragic to hear such news. Hunting accidents are unfortunate especially for a 10yr old.

I am a bit confused though. Was he shot with his own crossbow?

[Alpha_Wolf]

Hey lefty26,
When someone puts down hunting because we harvest deer to feed our families. Ask them If they would find it acceptable for " Bambi" to starve to death because of over-population. Then kindly ask her to stick her big opinions elsewhere, Like where the sun dont shine!!

[Deleted User]

[Deleted by Admins]