Hunting-related shooting fatalities increase in Pennsylvania

HARRISBURG — The number of hunting-related shooting fatalities in Pennsylvania went up in the past year, according to the state game commission.

There were 26 hunting-related shooting injuries in Pennsylvania in 2019, four of which were fatal. The number of fatalities is up from the previous year when only one of the 27 hunting-related shootings were fatal.

A little over half of the injuries in 2019 were inflicted by others, according to figures from the commission. The primary cause was a person being in the line of fire and the second most common cause was the unintended discharge of a firearm.

State officials said 2019 was the first year since the commission began tracking in 1915 when there were no related injuries reported during spring turkey season.

This year’s spring turkey season opened Saturday. It is scheduled to run through May 30.