Boalsburg hunter charged in the shooting of a man he mistook for a deer
A Boalsburg man was charged Friday in the shooting of a man that he mistook for a deer in the Centre Region.
Michael Lloyd, 40, shot his 81-year-old neighbor in the head with a .45-caliber semiautomatic handgun in December, State College police and the Pennsylvania Game Commission wrote in an affidavit of probable cause.
Lloyd was returning from hunting when he fired at least two shots. When he looked for the deer he believed he shot, Lloyd found his neighbor in the driveway with a gash in the top of his head, investigators wrote.
The man was flown by medical helicopter to UPMC Altoona for injuries that were not life-threatening. Part of his skull was removed during surgery, investigators wrote.
Lloyd was also charged after Pennsylvania Game Commission wardens found a loaded bolt-action rifle in his truck.
A defense lawyer was not listed.
Lloyd was charged with one misdemeanor count each of recklessly endangering another person, causing injury to human beings and propulsion of missiles onto a roadway. He was also charged with five summary hunting violations.
His preliminary hearing is scheduled for March 2.
There were 26 hunting-related shooting injuries in 2019 statewide, according to the game commission. Four were fatal.
Nearly 60% of the injuries were inflicted by others. The primary cause was a person being in the line of fire. Deer were hunted in more than half of the injuries.
