Police say turkey hunter accidentally shot hiker in Missouri

WELDON SPRING, Mo. — A hiker was accidentally shot by a turkey hunter Saturday in the St. Louis area, authorities said.

The shooting happened on the Lewis and Clark Trail in the Weldon Spring Conservation Area around 12:30 p.m. Saturday, St. Charles County Police Department spokeswoman Val Joyner said.

“It sounds like it was just a really bad accident,” Joyner said to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

The male hiker was taken to a hospital after the shooting, but his condition wasn’t immediately available Saturday evening.

Joyner said the hunter cooperated with police as they helped the Missouri Department of Conservation investigate the shooting.

Rebecca Brown, 50, of Richmond Heights, said she came upon the scene of the shooting Saturday while she had been running on the trail near Highway 94.

“It may have been an accident, but it is positively unforgivable that they allow people to hunt with firearms on Mother’s Day weekend on one of the most heavily traveled trails,” Brown said. “They need to mark that differently. There were families out there today with kids and dogs.”