Boy Killed in Hunting Accident

KARE-TV Video Report

By KARE-TV Minneapolis

AITKIN COUNTY, MN -- A 14-year-old boy from Buffalo died in a hunting accident in Aitkin County, authorities said Sunday.

Brandon Mitchell Lanie was hunting with a group north of Mille Lacs Lake. It was around sunset Saturday night when he was shot in the head by another hunter, the Sheriff said. He died at the scene.

Sheriff Scott Turner said it's believed Lanie was mistaken for a deer. Officials say Lanie was wearing a blaze orange jacket, blaze orange pants and a camouflage hat.

Sunset in the area on Saturday would have been about 4:39 p.m. with twilight lasting until about 5:12 p.m., according to a U.S. Naval Observatory calculator.

A 45-year-old Maplewood man was arrested at the scene and was being held on suspicion of second-degree manslaughter. He was expected to be arraigned in Aitkin County District Court on Monday.

Brandon's family describes him as kind-hearted, a boy who loved the outdoors. He was a freshman at Buffalo High School.

"He loved to hunt and fish. He could fish all day long. He wanted to hunt whenever he could - before school, after school, weekends," says Brandon's mother Debbie Hulett. "It?s been the hardest day of my life. I lost my best friend."

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