4 injured in opening weekend of Minn. deer season
At least four people were injured while hunting in Minnesota, as the state's deer season opened this weekend.
Separate hunting accidents in western Minnesota's Otter Tail County sent two people to hospitals.
The Forum of Fargo, N.D., reports a 16-year-old from Richville was resting the muzzle of a rifle on his boot when he heard a deer and grabbed the gun about 4:30 p.m. Saturday near Richville. The rifle went off and he was shot in the left foot. He was taken to a Fargo hospital with injuries that were not believed to be life-threatening. His name has not been released.
The newspaper reports a Henning woman was hurt when the wooden floor of her deer stand collapsed east of Perham around 3 p.m. Saturday. Melissa Johnson, 24, fell about five feet to the ground, suffering injuries to her lower legs. She was taken by ambulance to a Perham hospital.
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Near Barnesville, authorities say a man shot himself in the wrist after he tripped.
Clay County Sheriff Bill Bergquist says Kim Haggen, 52, was hunting northeast of Barnesville on Saturday morning when he tripped and fell. The sheriff told The Forum of Fargo, N.D., the gun discharged because its safety was off.
The newspaper says his condition is unknown. His hometown was not immediately released.
In Big Stone County in western Minnesota, a Bloomington teenager was injured when his shotgun accidentally discharged.
The sheriff's office says the youth's father, Douglas Gess, told investigators he was loading his shotgun when the gun accidentally fired. The slug traveled through the pickup box into the cab of the truck, where it struck Jesse Gess, 16.
He was taken to the Ortonville Hospital. Neither the sheriff's office nor the hospital would release information on his injuries or condition Sunday.
The accident happened shortly after 2 p.m. Saturday, about a mile south of the Big Stone National Wildlife Refuge headquarters.
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Information from: The Forum and KDIO-AM.
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)