WILKINSON — A Greenfield man is recovering from surgery after he was accidentally shot in the arm at the end of an evening of hunting, according to investigators.
Dustin Fischer, 31, of Greenfield was airlifted to an Indianapolis hospital late Saturday after being shot in the left arm by a rifle, officials said. Fischer was rushed into surgery to repair the damage, though his injuries were not believed to be life-threatening, officials said.
Indiana conservation officers and other Hancock County law enforcement were called to a home in the 8600 block of North County Road 750E in Wilkinson on Saturday just before 6:30 p.m., records show.
Fischer had been out hunting coyote with a friend, Johnathan Armstrong, 26, of Greenfield. The pair had returned to Armstrong’s pickup truck and were placing their rifles on the floor of the car when the accident happened, said Cpl. Angela Goldman, an officer with the Department of Natural Resources.
Armstrong placed his .223 caliber rifle on the floorboard of the truck prior to Fisher returning. When Fischer placed his firearm on the floorboard, Armstrong’s rifle fired, striking Fischer, investigators said.
The round went through Fischer’s left arm just below the elbow, Goldman said.
Armstrong and the owner of the property where the pair were hunting applied a tourniquet to Fischer’s arm to stop the bleeding as they waited for emergency crews to arrive, officials said.
Fischer was rushed by ambulance to Hancock Regional Hospital. A Statflight helicopter then flew him to Franciscan Health Hospital in Indianapolis where he underwent emergency surgery, Goldman said.
Fischer has since been released from the facility, hospital employees said.
The Department of Natural Resources has concluded its investigation into the accident, Goldman said, and officers do not anticipate filing criminal charges against anyone involved, she said.