This hunter is facing five years behind bars after a bullet he shot penetrated a wild boar before flying through a car windscreen and killing the driver.
The defendant named in reports as Hans-Jurgen H., 46, who has held a hunting licence for 23 years, was in a field in Goppeltshof in the Schwandorf district in the eastern part of Bavaria, Germany when he was hunting wild boar on 12th August 2018.
A group of hunters were in the area when they reportedly spotted a group of three wild boars near a road.
According to one of the other hunters who was present when the incident occurred Hans Jurgen H. said: “Nobody is to shoot towards the street as no wild boar is worth sacrificing a human life for.”
However, Hans-Jurgen H. is said to have shot towards three wild boars, hitting one of the animals but the bullet went right through the boar’s body and then flew towards the road hitting the windscreen of a car Harald S., 47, and Peter B., 62, were travelling in on their way to a car race.
The bullet went through car enthusiast Harald S.’s arm and then through his side before entering his lung. He died instantly.
The victim’s parents told local media: “Our son was executed like a wild boar. We have no happiness in life anymore.”
According to the public prosecutor, the hunter did not give sufficient backstop for the bullet and reports claim Hans-Jurgen H. had said the day before the incident occurred that: “The area we are working in is particularly dangerous due to its proximity to the nearby road.
He has now reportedly told those inside the courtroom at Amberg Court where he is facing manslaughter charges: “I am so very sorry. I have tried to put myself in the position of all those involved and it must be so terrible.”
Father-of-three hunter Hans-Jurgen surrendered his weapons after the incident and does not want to extend his hunting licence.
The verdict is due on July 25th.
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Story By: Kathryn Quinn, Sub-Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Central European News
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