20 year old arrested after killing 1, mistaken for deer | News | postandcourier.com
11/30/2024
Kristofer Kelle McDonald, 20, of Summerville, turned himself into the Dorchester Sheriff’s Office on Oct. 30 after he killed a woman and wounded her husband as they were walking their dog at night.
Police said McDonald mistook the couple for a deer when he fired his shotgun at them. Lori Wind, a 54-year-old Summerville resident, died at the scene.
The sheriff’s office charged him with involuntary manslaughter and assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature, according to arrest warrants.
The S.C. Department of Natural Resources has charged him with night hunting and two counts of negligent use of a firearm resulting in death and great bodily harm.
Dorchester County Magistrate Judge Tara Frost set a $400,000 cash surety bond for McDonald on Oct. 31.
McDonald appeared by video before Frost. He told the judge he didn’t think he was a bad person and said the shooting was an accident.
“I knew I wasn’t supposed be out there,” McDonald said from jail.
McDonald does not have an attorney. Frost reminded him against incriminating himself.
First Circuit Solicitor David Pascoe’s office will decide whether to prosecute.
About 10 of his family members packed into a small Dorchester County bond courtroom as Frost decided whether to release him from custody. McDonald lives with his family. His father said his son is not a flight risk and would work 12-hour shifts at his company once released.
His father told Frost he would remove all other firearms from their home.
In a news conference before the bond hearing, Dorchester County Chief Deputy Sam Richardson declined to say whether McDonald owned the shotgun, if he had a hunting permit or any hunter safety training.
https://www.postandcourier.com/news/mcdonald-arrest-sawmill-branch-trail-fatal-shooting-hunting/article_1eeac3ce-979a-11ef-8982-fb0e73c99bc4.html#:~:text=Richardson%20said%20McDonald%20and%20his%20family,reporting%20by%20The%20Post%20and%20Courier.