Minnesota Hunter Fatally Shoots Another Hunter After Allegedly Mistaking Him For Deer

A Minnesota hunter shot and killed another hunter last week after allegedly mistaking him for a deer.

Authorities were alerted about a hunter-related fatality on Nov. 25 at around 7.16 p.m. ET in Nebish Township, approximately 35 miles from the Red Lake Reservation in northern Minnesota’s Beltrami County, the Beltrami County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement Monday.

Officials identified the deceased as Lukas Dudley, 28, of Bemidji, and the shooter as Rain Stately, 33, of Redby. In the statement, authorities said Dudley was hunting deer in the area when he was shot by Stately. They weren't reportedly hunting together.

Stately told investigators that during the low light condition at dusk, he mistook Dudley for a deer and fired a single shot from his rifle in his direction. Officials said Stately called 911 immediately and alerted the authorities.

Police said in the statement Dudley wasn’t dressed in the typical orange-color hunting gear meant for higher visibility when he was shot. He was transported to the local medical examiner’s office for an autopsy.

The Beltrami County Sheriff’s Office, Red Lake Tribal Police Department, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Division of Enforcement, and the FBI are jointly investigating the incident, the statement said.

Authorities are yet to decide if any charges will be levied against Stately.

In October, a Pennsylvania teen was fatally shot by a hunter while he was watching the sunset with his girlfriend at a state park. Jason Kutt, 18, was sitting by a lake with his girlfriend when he was struck in the back of his neck.

Kutt was transported to a local hospital in critical condition and was pronounced dead later. Kutt’s girlfriend told authorities she saw a person wearing orange-colored hunting gear standing at a distance behind them before the shooting, but it wasn’t immediately clear if he was the same person who fired the fatal shot. Police conducted a search in the park for a suspect but didn’t find a person of interest. An investigation into the case was going on.