Police: Son fatally shoots his father in hunting accident

SANDY CREEK, N.Y. – State police say a 24-year-old man mistook his father for a deer and fatally shot the older man while hunting near the family’s central New York home on Thanksgiving.

Troopers say Kristopher Paro was in a tree stand in the woods behind his home in the Oswego County town of Sandy Creek around 4:40 p.m. Thursday when he heard what he thought was a deer about 100 yards away.

Police say Paro fired a shot, unaware that his father, 58-year-old Kevin Paro, had gone into the woods a short time earlier to hunt. Troopers say the father was hit in the chest by a round from his son’s .270-calibre rifle.

The older man was taken to Oswego Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

The son hasn’t been charged. Police say their investigation is continuing.