DORCHESTER COUNTY, SC (WCSC/Gray News) – A man accused of shooting a woman to death on a hiking trail said he believed he was shooting a deer, according to an arrest warrant.

Kristofer Kelle McDonald, 20, was arrested for the death of 54-year-old Lori Wind. Wind was walking on the paved portion of the Sawmill Branch Walking Trail with her husband around 8:15 p.m. Tuesday when they were shot.

Both Wind and her husband were injured. A coroner declared Wind dead about two hours after the shooting. Her husband was also injured but his condition has not been released.

Deputy Chief Sam Richardson said in a briefing that officers found a firearm believed to be related to the shooting. Investigators identified McDonald as the shooting suspect through information from a “confidential source.”

Richardson said McDonald surrendered to authorities and acknowledged he was in the area at the time of the shooting.

According to the arrest warrant, McDonald was hunting illegally at night and mistook the sounds of leaves and branches moving near the trail for deer. He fired three or four rounds from a 20-gauge shotgun.

Richardson said state law requires hunters to stay at least 300 yards from residential areas when hunting to avoid injuring anyone.

“You always have to be aware of any collateral damage that may occur in the process of using that weapon, and the capabilities of the weapon are important because each weapon has a particular set of capabilities,” Richardson said.

He declined to say whether McDonald had a valid hunting license at the time of the shooting. When asked if there was anything illegal about possessing a firearm in the area, Richardson said it was the act of firing the gun and injuring people that made the actions illegal.

“There is simply no excuse for someone to be careless with a firearm, and surely someone paid the price with their life. “There’s just no excuse for that,” he said.

McDonald faces charges of criminal negligent use of a firearm resulting in death, criminal negligent use of a firearm resulting in great bodily harm and night hunting filed by SCDNR, according to agency spokesman Stephen Fastenau.

Those charges are in addition to charges of involuntary manslaughter and assault and battery of a serious and aggravated nature already filed against him by the Dorchester County Sheriff’s Office.

During a bond hearing Thursday afternoon, a judge set bond at $400,000 for McDonald and also ordered that, as a condition of bond, he not participate in any hunting activities.

Richardson urged people who live in the county to be safe when they go out at night.

“Just make sure you have clear lighting, you know, where you have some lighting available, whether it’s, I would say, reflective tape or something like that, so that if you lose visibility, you’re seen. ” said

Richardson said the city of Summerville advises people not to use the trail after dark.

He also said he spoke with Summerville Police Chief Doug Wright and that the two agencies plan to do everything they can to increase patrols in the area.

Copyright 2024 WCSC through Gray Local Media, Inc. All rights reserved.