A man arrested in a fatal shooting thought he was shooting deer, arrest warrant says

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

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

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

Chief Deputy Sam Richardson said in a briefing that officers encountered a firearm believed to be connected 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 along 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 1,000 feet away from residential areas while hunting to avoid injuring anyone.

“You should always be aware of any collateral damage that may occur while using that weapon, and the capabilities of the weapon are important because every weapon has a certain 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 owning a firearm in the area, Richardson said it was firing the gun and injuring people that made the actions illegal.

‘There is simply no excuse for careless handling of a firearm, and someone may have 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 nighttime hunting filed by SCDNR, agency spokesman Stephen Fastenau said.

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

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

Richardson urged people living in the county to be safe when going out at night.

“Just make sure you have bright 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 sight, you’ll be seen,” he said

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

He also said he has spoken with Summerville Police Chief Doug Wright and that the two agencies plan to do their best to increase patrols in the area.