Sheriff: Boy wounded by stray bullet while picking apples

NASHUA, Iowa – Authorities say an 8-year-old boy was hit by a stray bullet while visiting an apple orchard with his parents in northeast Iowa.

Chickasaw County Sheriff Martin Hemann (HEE’-muhn) says the boy is hospitalized in stable condition, though details about his injuries haven’t been released.

The sheriff says the bullet was fired Sunday at a Nashua Fish and Game Club range that’s less than a mile from the Apples on the Avenue orchard. Hemann tells the Charles City Press the shooting was a “freak accident” and isn’t being investigated as a crime.

Orchard owner Darin Enderton says the shooting is the first he’s heard of in the four decades his property and the range have been neighbours.

Enderton says the boy’s parents told him their son underwent surgery and was expected to be hospitalized for up to two weeks.

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Information from: Charles City Press, http://www.charlescitypress.com