The Iowa Department of Natural Resources says an 11-year-old was injured while pheasant hunting Sunday.
The DNR says the boy, who they do not identify, was pheasant hunting with his father in Jackson County at the Three Hills Hunting Preserve around 11 A.M. The boy fired at a bird and his gun exploded. Fragments from the shotgun shell hit the boy in the thumb, breaking its tip.
The boy was taken to Mercy Medical Center in Dubuque for treatment. The DNR investigation found the shotgun’s action was not locking in place and that caused it to open when the boy fired the gun, allowing the shell fragments to escape.