Ocean Springs teenager killed in hunting accident in Carroll County

Ocean Springs teen Hayden Bonta was killed Friday in a hunting accident in Carroll County.

According to a news release from the Carroll County Sheriff’s Department, Carroll County deputies, Medstat and Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks officers responded to the scene off County Road 163 in the Blackhawk area of Carroll County.

Bonta, 17, was declared dead at the scene by Carroll County Coroner Mark Stiles. Investigators with MDWFP and the Carroll County Sheriff’s Department are conducting an investigation, though preliminary indications are that the shooting was accidental.

“Our prayers are certainly with the Bonta family and their friends during this tragic time. The death of a teenager is never easy,” Sheriff Clint Walker said. “I ask all of our citizens to hold this family up in prayer in the coming days.”