Mistaken for Game: Iowa Teen Killed During Squirrel Hunt

iSportsman Staff

A squirrel hunt in Washington County, Iowa, turned tragic late last month when 17-year-old Carson Ryan was shot and killed after reportedly being mistaken for game by another member of his hunting party.

According to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR), the incident occurred around 3 p.m. near rural Washington, not far from Iowa City, when one of the teens in the group fired at what he believed was a squirrel. The round struck Carson in the back of the head. He was airlifted to the University of Iowa Hospital, where he later died from his injuries according to CBS News.

Authorities from the DNR and the Washington County Sheriff’s Office are investigating the circumstances surrounding the shooting, though no charges have been announced as of this week.

A Community in Mourning

Carson’s death has devastated the small southeast Iowa community of Washington. His high school track and field team wrote on social media, “Our hearts are broken. Please keep Carson’s mom, family, classmates and teammates in your hearts as we navigate this devastating loss,” according to CBS News. Carson also played football.

A GoFundMe page launched to support his family quickly surpassed $50,000.

“His kindness, humor and genuine spirit touched countless lives,” the organizers wrote. “His loss leaves an immeasurable void.”

A Hard Lesson in Safety

Anyone who’s hunted long enough has heard of or been a part of a story or two about close calls or moments of youthful carelessness that could have gone wrong. Tragically, this one did—and the result will haunt everyone involved for the rest of their lives.

No one who has ever handed a shotgun or rifle to a young hunter wants to imagine the sound of a gun going off when it shouldn’t or the horror that follows. As adults, we must stress safety with young hunters before every outing, making it as much a part of a young hunter’s routine as how to properly identify game or appreciate the opportunity to be outdoors. It has to be kept at the forefront of their minds. Recklessness and playing around when handling a firearm can never be tolerated.

Fortunately, the enactment of hunter education requirements in every state has led to greatly reduced incidents such as this and made hunting actually one of the safest activities people can participate in. But this case serves as a stark reminder that the consequences of not being safe can be dire.

Firearms safety is not one and done—it’s a lifelong discipline reinforced every time a gun is handled, loaded or passed from one person to another.

Every young hunter needs to repeatedly hear, and live by, the four basic rules of firearm safety every time they handle a gun:

• Always treat every firearm as if it’s loaded.
• Never point it at anything you do not intend to shoot.
• Keep your finger off the trigger until you’re ready to fire.
• Be sure of your target and what’s beyond it.

A Painful Wake-Up Call

While the details of the shooting that took Carson’s life have not been made public yet, this wasn’t an “accident” in the sense that it was unavoidable—it was the result of carelessness—plain and simple. It was preventable. It should’ve never happened. And that’s what makes it hurt so much for every sportsman who hears this story.

The teen who pulled the trigger will live with that weight forever. His friends who watched it happen will too. For Carson’s family, there’s no undoing what’s been done. But if his loss serves as a wake-up call to others—to slow down, think and handle every hunt with the seriousness it deserves—maybe some small piece of good can come from such heartbreak.

As fall hunting seasons ramp up, everyone going afield is urged to make a recommitment to safety, to slow things down when you think you spot game and take the time to positively identify by looking for details in the animal and to always keep safety at the forefront of your mind. There is no game or trophy animal in the world worth risking someone’s life over.