11-year-old shot and killed in hunting accident

MADISON, Wis. (Gray News) – An 11-year-old was accidentally shot and killed while deer hunting Sunday morning, according to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.

Authorities said Easton Thom was shot when a 41-year-old man attempted to unload his firearm while it was placed in the back seat of a vehicle.

The gun discharged and hit the middle school student in the chest.

Easton was flown to a hospital, where he died.

“The Berlin Area School District is heartbroken by yesterday’s death of Berlin Middle School sixth grader Easton Thom in a hunting accident,” superintendent Dr. Emmett Durtschi said in a statement obtained by WBAY. “Our thoughts and prayers go out to the Thom family and friends, school staff, and the entire Berlin community.”

DNR said the boy and the man were members of the same hunting party.