Hunter accidentally shoots his own father in Italy

A hunter in southern Italy accidentally shot his father. The 34-year-old man thought he was shooting a wild boar, according to Italian media.

The men were hunting together but searched independently for their prey. They would have walked through thick vegetation at the time of the deadly shooting. The 55-year-old Martino Gaudioso suffered a gunshot wound to his belly, from which he died.

The hunting accident happened in a national park near Sicignano Degli Alburni, a municipality near the town of Salerno. It is forbidden to hunt in the area. On Sunday, the president of the association for animals and the environment said that Italy had become the ‘Wild West’ for hunters. “It’s a national emergency,” so said Michela Vittoria Brambilla to reporters.

Last October, Italian Environment Minister Sergio Costa called for a nationwide ban on Sunday hunting after an 18-year-old boy was shot dead near the French border. Later that month, two more men – aged 56 and 20 – were killed in similar circumstances, according to the BBC.