MATTAWAMKEAG, Maine — A Mattawamkeag hunter was accidentally shot when he fell and his rifle discharged while he and several friends were searching for a wounded deer on Thursday, a member of the Maine Warden Service said.
Aaron Burke, 30, was in serious condition at Eastern Maine Medical Center late Thursday afternoon, a hospital spokeswoman said.
Burke was walking along a trail near the Mattawamkeag River near the town transfer station when he fell on the steep riverbank and his hunting rifle accidentally fired about 8:45 a.m. The bullet struck him in one of his arms and torso, according to Cpl. John MacDonald, spokesman for the Maine Warden Service.
Burke and his friends walked to the transfer station, where a Mattawamkeag Fire Department ambulance met them. The ambulance took Burke to Penobscot Valley Hospital in Lincoln where he was treated and transferred to Eastern Maine Medical Center, MacDonald said.
“I am not under the impression that it is a life-threatening injury,” MacDonald said.