RIVERSIDE, Calif. – A 14-year-old boy was shot dead by a family member on a hunting trip, California authorities said Monday.
Isreal Delatorre, of Coachella, Calif., was killed Friday afternoon while hunting with his father and another 14-year-old relative on Little Mountain Road in Riverside County's Garner Valley area, The Press Enterprise reported.
After the relative shot a deer, Isreal's father told the boys to stay where they were while he returned to his vehicle for gear to clean the animal.
But the boys ran to the deer, and it was believed that the relative, aiming at the animal, accidentally shot Isreal at close range.
California Fish and Game Warden Patrick Foy said the relative was a licensed hunter and Isreal may have stepped into the crossfire.
"He was shot by a family member in what we are treating as an unintentional shooting," Sheriff's Deputy Steve Scallon said, according to City Service News.
Neither the relative nor the boy's father was named. An investigation into the incident was underway.
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