Man Shoots Little Girl Relative After Mistaking Her for a Skunk

Weird news, crime, shooting

Note to man with a gun: little girls are a lot bigger than skunks.

But that didn’t stop a New Sewickley, Pa. man from shooting a nine-year-old relative in the shoulder because he mistook her for a skunk after he saw her in her Halloween costume.

New Sewickley Police Chief Ronald Leindecker didn’t identify the girl or her relative, because police are still collecting statements from witnesses so the case can be turned over to the local prosecutor’s office.

But Leindecker told the Beaver County Times that the little girl was over a nearby hillside at about 8:30 p.m. during a Halloween party. The male relative mistook the girl’s black costume and black hat with a white tassel for a skunk and got out his shotgun.

The little girl was alert and talking Saturday when she was taken by medical helicopter to UPMC Children’s Hospital in Pittsburgh, but her condition wasn’t reported. Leindecker said he’s not sure if the family will file charges against their relative, but also noted the man hadn’t been drinking.