[StBernard] St. Bernard Parish man shoots friend, mistakes friend for a deer

[Westley Annis]

St. Bernard Parish man shoots friend, mistakes friend for a deer
 By Benjamin Alexander-Bloch, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune 
on December 18, 2012 at 5:58 PM, updated December 18, 2012 at 6:43 PM Print

Deer hunting among friends apparently can be a dangerous sport. One St.
Bernard Parish man shot another with a 12-gauge shotgun at dusk on Monday,
believing his friend was some future venison.

Josh Starr, 27, of Meraux, accidentally shot his friend Troy Long, also 27
and a resident of Meraux, according to St. Bernard Parish Sheriff's Office.
The friends were illegally hunting in woods behind E. Judge Perez Drive.

Long was taken to the Interim LSU Public Hospital - better known as
University Hospital - for surgery after being hit by buck shot in both legs,
Sheriff Jimmy Pohlmann said. Troy is in stable condition after surgery, the
Sheriff's Office reports.

Starr told sheriff's deputies that he heard movement and saw something
heading toward him. He fired, thinking it was a deer.

Neither man was wearing orange vests or clothing as a safety precaution to
identify themselves as hunters, Pohlmann said.

The friends were hunting in the woods behind the old Borgnemouth Park, on
private property behind the 4400 block of E. Judge Perez Drive in Meraux.

Pohlmann said the area is popular with deer hunters despite it being illegal
for hunters to trespass and fire weapons there.

"This should be a warning to others that they shouldn't trespass, try to
hunt when it's getting dark and fail to wear orange safety outfits,"
Pohlmann said. "This could have been so much worse.''

The Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Department is conducting an
investigation of the incident. It could lead to citations.