Four shot in hunting accidents, one dies

Four people were shot statewide over the weekend in hunting-related accidents — and one of them was killed. Kevin Baskins is a spokesman for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. The body of 44-year-old Gerald Williamson of Des Moines was found by other hunters at a wildlife area near Elkhart on Saturday afternoon, the first day of Iowa’s shotgun hunting season on deer. Baskins says it appeared Williamson accidentally shot himself, but the investigation is still underway. Baskins says the investigations are particularly important to the D-N-R so other hunters can be warned and future tragedies might be prevented. He says it’s typical to have several gun-related injuries during hunting season, although he says last year’s death-free year was a bit out of the ordinary.There were 30 hunting-related injuries last year, 15 during the pheasant season and 15 during deer season, but no one was killed. Baskins could not say where the three people were injured this past weekend and could provide no detail, other than to say the injuries were not life-threatening.