DORCHESTER COUNTY, S.C. (WCSC/Gray News) – A man charged in the shooting death of a woman on a walking trail said he believed he was shooting at deer, according to the arrest warrant.
Kristofer Kelle McDonald, 20, was arrested in the death of 54-year-old Lori Wind. Wind was walking on the paved portion of the Sawmill Branch Walking Trail with her husband at about 8:15 p.m. Tuesday when they were shot at.
Both Wind and her husband were struck. A coroner pronounced Wind dead at about two hours after the shooting. Her husband was also injured but his condition has not been released.
Chief Deputy Sam Richardson said in a briefing that deputies came across a firearm believed to be connected to the shooting. Investigators identified McDonald as the suspect in the shooting through information from a “confidential source.”
Richardson said McDonald surrendered to authorities and acknowledged he was in the area at the time of the shooting.
According to the arrest warranted, McDonald was illegally hunting at night and mistook the sounds of leaves and branches moving near the trail for deer. He fired off three or four rounds from a 20-gauge shotgun.
Richardson said state law requires hunters to stay at least 300 yards from residential areas when hunting to avoid injuring someone.
“You need to always be aware of any collateral damage that could occur in the process of using that weapon, and the capabilities of the weapon is important because each weapon has a particular set of capabilities,” Richardson said.
He declined to say whether McDonald had a valid hunting license at the time of the shooting. When asked if there was anything illegal about possessing a firearm in the area, Richardson said that it was the act of firing the gun and wounding people that made the actions illegal.
“There’s just no excuse for anybody being careless with a firearm, and certainly perhaps someone paid a price with their life. There’s just no excuse for that,” he said.
McDonald faces charges of criminal negligent use of a firearm resulting in death, criminal negligent use of a firearm resulting in great bodily harm and night hunting filed by SCDNR, according to agency spokesperson Stephen Fastenau.
Those charges are in addition to charges of involuntary manslaughter and assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature already filed against him by the Dorchester County Sheriff’s Office.
During a bond hearing Thursday afternoon, a judge set a $400,000 surety bond for McDonald and also ordered that, as a condition of bond, he participate in no hunting activities whatsoever.
Richardson urged people who live in the county to be safe when they go out at night.
“Just make sure you’ve got clear lighting, you know, where you’ve got some lighting available, be it, I would say, reflective tape or something like that, so that if you lose visibility, that you’re seen,” he said
Richardson said the town of Summerville advises people not to use the trail after dark.
He also said he spoke with Summerville Police Chief Doug Wright and the two agencies plan to do their best to increase patrols in the area.
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