Hunter accidentally shot; police conducting probe
By Bryan P. Sears
County police are investingating a hunting accident involving two Parkton men in which one was accidentally shot in the face.
On Feb. 2, Francis Murphy and his friend Keith Metcalf were deer hunting in a field across from Metcalf's home in the 17400 block of Bruehl Road in Parkton, according to a Baltimore County police report. Shortly before 7 p.m., county police were called to the home, where they found Metcalf with nonlife-threatening wounds to the face.
Initially, Murphy told police that he and Metcalf were walking their dogs in the field when they heard a gunshot. Murphy said that Metcalf fell to the ground immediately after the shot rang out, according to police.
Investigators became suspicious of the story when they walked the path the two men took. Police found that the tracks from the two men split off in different directions and there were no dog tracks.
Murphy later admitted to police that the men were deer hunting in the field and had split up to drive the deer into the open, according to the police report. Murphy said he saw a dark figure in the tall weeds that appeared to be a deer. He dropped the figure with one shot from this .22-caliber rifle, he told police.
It was only when he approached that he discovered that he had shot Metcalf in the face.
Metcalf was taken to Sinai Hospital, where he was treated and released, said Kathy Moore, a hospital spokeswoman.
As of Feb. 7, state Department of Natural Resources police have not been asked to investigate the incident, a state spokesman said.
Cpl. Ken Turner, a natural resources police spokesman, said his agency is usually asked to handle such incidents, but the county has not referred the case to them.
He declined to comment on the incident.
Bill Toohey, a police spokesman, said county police "continue to look into" the incident.
