BRISTOL, Maine — An Upper Round Pond Road resident told police he was shot Thursday when he entered woods near his home about 10:30 a.m. after hearing several gunshots in the area, according to a Lincoln County Sheriff’s Department statement.
Deputies declined to release the names of anyone involved while the incident is under investigation, but said the wounded man was taken by Central Lincoln County Ambulance to Miles Memorial Hospital, where he was reported to be in stable condition.
Investigators said they have identified everyone they think is involved in the shooting.
The Lincoln County Sheriff’s Department also was assisted by the Bristol Fire Department and the Maine Warden Service.
No further details about where the resident was injured, whether any arrests were pending or on how many people were involved were released Thursday night.
Pot harvest?
Hunting season – my least favorite time in Maine, when the woods are overrun with half wits running around with guns.
I take offense to that. I run around with guns, and I’m a only quarter-wit, at best.
don’t forget that a lot of out-of-staters come up to join the hunt, they’re not exactly the brightest either.
The vast majority of the half wits running causing problems during hunting season have deep Maine roots, and I say that as a Maine native.
judgemental much.
Landowners can now post all or part of their land “Access by Permission Only” by painting the boundary of the posted area every 100-feet with an 8-inch vertical stripe of Safety Purple Paint. Signs can also be placed at entrances giving permission to enter for stated purposes such as walking trails, viewing etc. Paint is not easily destroyed and does not need renewal every year.
It’s unfortunate that hunters are not required to ask permission to enter property where people are concerned about their safety and want to enjoy their own activities. Night hunters all year long don’t need to ask permission to come armed in the dark on private property. Some want their livestock and pets to have the safety of required permission in firearms seasons.
See:
http://www.mainelegislature.org/legis/statutes/17-A/title17-Asec402.html
http://www.maine.gov/sos/cec/rules/04/chaps04.htm Rule CH 24.
The article didn’t say that the man owned the property only that it was near his house.
Maybe he was the one who was trespassing.
The article I read didn’t mention anything about hunters, either.
Well, you have succeeded in hurling an insult at a huge population of Mainers who take part in a long lived tradition here in our State. Well played. I’m sure you’re saddened to think of even MORE people feeling disdain for you… whoever you are… if it is in fact even possible for anyone to feel more disdain for you. And just on a final note, the firearms hunting season in Maine doesn’t begin until the 27th, so if someone was shooting at wildlife, they were doing so illegally. Or maybe they mistook the gentleman for you…
Dont wear white mittens.
A sad reminder of a very real tragedy.
I had just moved to Maine from Chicago when Karen’s death occurred. We bought a house with a back yard that had open fields behind it. I was totally frightened to go outside with my very young daughter after the incident. Blaming the victim and no punishment for the hunter astonished me. I learned very quickly to wear orange every time I went into my own back yard. My daughter will soon be 26. I’ve often thought through the years of Karen’s twin girls and their father. I hope they are doing well and are happy.
I live in an area where moose, bear, deer, and bird hunting take place every day at this time of the year. I hear loud gunshots almost every day. I haven’t been hit yet, but I do see some strange-looking holes in my siding every autumn.
How about hunters stay out of other people’s woods? I know it is the law that hunters can go tramping all over other’s land unless it is marked, but it sucks that I have to wear blaze orange for months on end just to walk in my own fields and this poor guy gets shot simply because he walked into his own woods.
Responsible hunters will ask the property owner – if only every one acted like a grown adult
yes, they should stay out of the woods, but this guy was crazy to walk into the woods unannounced knowing that there were people out there shooting. You can be right and dead at the same time. He should show more caution.
Unfortunately, Maine is overrun with half wits, most notably are the species known as “bangorianus illiterus”.
Yep hear gun shots let’s go stomping around in woods find them bad boys
That is what I was thinking. Don’t call 911 and report it, just wonder off into the area where the shots are coming from.
Yup, my instincts are the exact opposite. When I hear gunshots in the woods I try to stay away since I don’t own much ornage
Why call 911 and why walk toward the shots. Was there some sort of crime in progress??
Since when is firing a gun in the woods at 10:30am illegal?
I never stated it was illegal but if you hear shots fired you are well within your rights to dial 911 and report it.
Why report legal activities? Isn’t misuse of 911 illegal?
No, it is not against the law to dial 911 if you hear gunshots, ever.
Ever notice that most people shot during hunting season are wearing orange!! hell …its a target!
where did you get that info?
That, is something I have debated in my head for years, how the state can sell licenses to allow anyone to trespass on my land, under the platform of owning the game, I pay the taxes, the state gets to lease it for hunting??
It says right in the Hunting/trapping lawbook that a hunting license does not give the holder permission to tresspass on anothers property. A trespasser is not always a hunter, you can have someone trespassing that is simply snowshoeing through or watching wildlife.
When I bought my 100+ acres some years ago it was a local favorite spot for hunting, ATV and snowmobile access. I posted it not so much for the hunters but people that would leave trash behind while driving or walking through. I am a hunter myself and have always asked for permission from the landowner where I have hunted, it is a priviledge not a right.
people like you that ruin the maine way of life,you are no hunter.
It’s his land. If he wants to post it, he can post it. Deal with it. If you don’t like it, then offer to buy his property, or pay his property taxes. I’m a hunter, have lived in Maine all my life, as has my family going back to 1672.
no, northernmaine has the right thought & like he said it’s a priviledge and you should be nice enough to ask permission
Sounds like he the sort of hunter there should be more of, one with ethics and common sense.
He can post his land and still allow hunting. People just need to get permission from the owner. I hunt on posted land and keep a note from the owner in my wallet.
I have held a valid hunting license and hunt almost religously for the last 35+ years, my land is posted access by permission. I do grant and even invite people to hunt on my land.
If the Maine way of life is to tromp all over someone elses property littering and causing damage then you come from a different Maine than I do. I was born and brought up here and was instilled with a respect for others property, just like I have instilled in my children.
Its been that way for 100s of years don’t like it move.
Private property rights surpass anyone’s perceived right to trespass or endanger someone by hunting without asking permission. Most hunters are responsible but every year we see what happens because of a few that should NOT be hunting or even owning firearms. I say this as a gun owner and a veteran who understands most people act responsibly but there are always a few that get through the cracks.
He’s trolling just for arguments John – ignore the troll.
there seems to be an odd disconnect with some hunters with property rights and trespassing. i tend to see it more in younger hunters and out of state’ers. they just don’t understand that going on a person’s land without permission is very similar to walking into an unlocked house. just because the house isn’t locked, it doesn’t mean that walking in uninvited isn’t trespassing. many years ago now, growing up in northern maine, you can be darn sure my father and i knew we had permission before hunting on another person’s land, posted or not. of course, back then everyone knew everyone else. i don’t hunt anymore, but if i did, you can bet your bottom dollar i’d know who’s land i’m hunting on, and i’d have their permission first, posted or not. if it’s not your property, ask permission. even if you have permission, let the landowner know when you’ll be there and whereabouts you’ll be. it’s about respect, something many people just don’t understand. show a little and you may be surprised how friendly and accommodating people can be.
Actually if he doesn’t like it all he needs to do is post his land and report trespassers to the authorities.
I moved here from CO about nine years ago and that’s one thing I’ve never understood about Maine hunters. Landowners are usually pleasantly shocked when I actually ask permission to bowhunt on their property, since most never ask. To me it’s just common courtesy. I wouldn’t hunt another person’s land any more than I’d walk into their back yard and start swimming in their pool.
What a riot, LOL, now calm down, the land I have has been ours for 114 years, so, sort of not going to move, LOL, however times do change, seems to me, hunting has sort of run it’s course, I know some still gotta do it, but, if they spent the money they spend on it in a store, probably they would eat better.
So post your land—-
Note that this is the same town where hikers on the Crook Trail by the Pemaquid River took incoming fire when a group of “enthusiasts” began shooting at pumpkins placed on TOP of the berm at the shooting range…
One would think if this was a hunting accident, the Wardens would be leading the investigation.
Not looking to argue or start a Mainer vs “From Away” battle but I’ve got to disagree with you. I live and work in a rural area and from my experience it’s the older Mainers who don’t ask for permission to hunt private property. And from many conversations I’ve had, it’s because they honestly don’t believe they should have to. It seems that many (like John above) just have a different viewpoint…to them it’s some sort of tradition that during hunting season all woods are public and they’re genuinely indignant when private property is posted. Don’t really get the logic myself.
And this was supposed to be a reply to Shinsplint above. This disquis thing is a little quirky.
I think it’s probably more from old habits, it used to be back when I was younger that you could hunt almost anywhere and most people did and the landowners had no problem with it. Times have changed.
Many “older” hunters probably have always hunted land that they had permission from land owners decades ago. Perhaps it’s time to ask again in case that land owner moved or died.
I try to remember to wear a blaze orange cap or jacket when out in the yard, suggest parent’s with kids keep them indoors or have them wear some orange…
With hunting season upon us I wonder how legal fireworks will come into play in populated areas? It’s very difficult to tell the difference.
The gentleman exercised poor judgement – entering the woods after hearing gunshots! Had he dialed 911 and reported “shots fired” the authorities would probably have been glad to send a “tactical team” just to give them the practice!
Why are all mentions on this thread referring to “hunters?” The greatest trespassing perpetrators are snow machine and ATV riders who cut fences and run over other’s property because their machines can do it and they know that the authorities have few machines that can catch them! And don’t give me this B*S about it is just a few that do this! I own a company that was (unfortunately) built across a former snow machine trail. I have watched riders pull up to the edge of my (posted) property, read the sign and then proceed as if they owned the place!
A good start would be a fine of $500 for the first violation with a $1000 fine and 30 days in jail for the second! Then maybe the term “private property” would again have some meaning in Maine. But of course our politicians could never have the courage to pass such a law – after all it is not their property that the trespassers are violating and each property owner only has one vote!