His Last ROUND!

He was covered in blood when he waived down the Sherriff Deputy. The deputy didn’t know what to think when he saw a fifteen year old boy covered in blood and in hunting gear. The boy was pale in color, like he had seen a ghost. The boy didn’t know where he was or how he got there. All he knew is he and his buddies needed help and quick.

As the boy and the deputy talked , the boy explained in detail what happened. All three boys who were involved in this incident, I have used false names to protect all involved. The names of the boys involved were Dwayne, Thomas and Barry. All three boys were hunting Canadian Geese. They lined up one behind the other. Barry was in front, Dwayne was in the middle and my stepson, Thomas was in the back.

All three boys had agreed on the count of three they would shoot. Dwayne misunderstood and stood up as soon as Thomas pulled the trigger. There was nothing that could be done for Dwayne on Thanksgiving Day 1985. Poor Thomas could not take that shot back.

Dwayne’s uncle was charged with being intoxicated and child abuse resulting in death. There were other charges, but we don’t recall all of them.

This happened in Pierre, SD. We tried to get to where Thomas was and we couldn’t get to him because of a blizzard. Dwayne’s parents treated Thomas like family. They had nothing bad to say say about him and reassured us he was safe with them. That night my wife and I watched the movie, “The Stone Boy.” A movie about a young boy who accidentally kills his brother during a hunting accident. It dulled the mood at home even more.

Three days prior to this, Thomas and his friend Barry asked my wife if Thomas could go hunting. My wife begrudgingly let him go, but begged him not to go because she had a bad feeling about this. Thomas asked me and I said it was between him and his mother. Obviously he won and was able to go.

When Thomas returned I felt so helpless. I have never hunted so I don’t understand how to deal with an accidental shooting. This was all new for me.

I told my wife we had an appointment with a psychiatrist, but she and Thomas didn’t want to go, so I rescheduled. We never saw a psychiatrist, but to this day Thomas says I should have gone and talked to the shrink.

I told Thomas he could.speak with hi father in Virginia as much as he wanted. I even suggested that he go stay with his dad for a period of time and that turned into knock down drag out fights between my wife and I. She accused me of wanting to send her son away.

We had a family emergency and had to go home to Virginia. Thomas spent the entire time with his father.

His father took him hunting. He could see the fear and apprehension in his sons face when he was handed a rifle. His dad told him I am going to be beside you the entire time. He talked Thomas through the shot like he was a young child on his first hunt, trying to gain his confidence.

That was in fact Thomas’ last round.

Thomas is fifty-one today. While he owns firearms because he lives out in the country, he has never taken his son hunting. He still struggles with the holiday seasons. He becomes isolated during those times and his drinking increases at this time as well.