A
Art Mann
Guest
ROCHESTER, Pa. - A woman hosting a Halloween party shined a light for her son to help him shoot what they thought was a skunk but was really his 8-year-old cousin in a black-and-white costume, police said.
The girl, who was hit in the shoulder, arm, back and neck, was hospitalized Monday in critical condition following Saturday night's shooting in Rochester, a rural area about 30 miles (50 kilometres) northwest of Pittsburgh where firearms and hunting are common.
The woman hosting the party, Janet Grant, told police officers someone told her at around 8:30 p.m. there was a skunk nearby and she asked her son to shoot it, New Sewickley Township police Chief Ronald Leindecker said Monday, according to the Beaver County Times.
The son, 24-year-old Thomas Grant, grabbed a shotgun while his mother pointed the beam of a flashlight at a nearby hillside, Leindecker said. Grant spotted what he thought was a skunk under a tree and fired, the chief said, but then he heard a scream from his cousin.
The girl was wearing a black body costume and a black hat with a white tassel.
The girl, who was hit in the shoulder, arm, back and neck, was hospitalized Monday in critical condition following Saturday night's shooting in Rochester, a rural area about 30 miles (50 kilometres) northwest of Pittsburgh where firearms and hunting are common.
The woman hosting the party, Janet Grant, told police officers someone told her at around 8:30 p.m. there was a skunk nearby and she asked her son to shoot it, New Sewickley Township police Chief Ronald Leindecker said Monday, according to the Beaver County Times.
The son, 24-year-old Thomas Grant, grabbed a shotgun while his mother pointed the beam of a flashlight at a nearby hillside, Leindecker said. Grant spotted what he thought was a skunk under a tree and fired, the chief said, but then he heard a scream from his cousin.
The girl was wearing a black body costume and a black hat with a white tassel.
