Frank Coleman Whiddon, a 37-year-old Pierson resident, was turkey-hunting with his two sons right at sunup Sunday morning in the woods near Bunnell when he was himself mistaken for a turkey by another hunter and shot.
Whiddon was transported by Trauma One, the emergency helicopter, and was stable at first, but his condition was downgraded to critical, according to Bunnell Police Chief Dave Brannon.
The incident took place at 7:30. Whiddon was hunting near Old Haw Creek Road with his son Hunter, who was turning 12 that very day, and Whiddon’s 7-year-old son.
John R. Bennett, who turns 72 this week, was hunting alone. He had entered the hunting grounds from a different location.
Whiddon and his sons had walked in and sat on the side of the road, according to a Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission report. (FWC is investigating the incident. FWC, which did not release the incident report until today, referred to the hunting grounds as Bimini East Hunting Club.) Whiddon happened to be behind a turkey decoy.
Bennett was walking along the road. He later told law enforcement that he’d seen three female turkeys on the road. Bennett said he followed the female turkeys and then saw what he thought was a male turkey. He aimed and fired. It was low light still. He soon realized that the male turkey was a decoy. He then heard someone shout they had been shot.
Bennett called 911. Bunnell police officers and Flagler County sheriff’s deputies responded and located Whiddon. He’d been “shot in the head and torso with what appeared to be bird shot,” according to Bunnell police.
“Bennett expressed remorse for the shooting and showed officers where the incident occurred,” a Bunnell police release states. Officers located a shotgun shell about 150 yards east of the location of the 911 call.
JimboXYZ says
Tragic Dick Cheney moment. Hope his condition improves & the shot man survives for his family’s sake. Time to retire & put away those guns. Year’s ago my Dad told me why he gave up hunting. He was out on his hunting ritual, when another mistakenly opened fire at him. Fortunately he had a boulder to get behind as the other hunter(s) had pinned him behind that rock. From that day forward, Dad had figured he was fortunate to have survived a hunting accident, Dad served 1942-45 in WW2. There were too many hack hunters in the woods then, he wasn’t going out that way, not after WW2 didn’t get him.
Thomas G Davies says
careless, suspicious, or someone should not have been allowed to have a firearm in the first place
Charles says
Human male vs a male turkey you got to be kidding me. Sounds like the shooter does not need to own firearms and definitely needs to have his eyes checked. I was taught as a young child he always played in the woods to wear bright colors so hunters could see me.
Steve says
I appreciate your Dad’s Service. The greatest Generation to ever exist on the Planet.
MeToo says
Hunters usually wear camouflage for the opposite reason.
DP says
You apparently didn’t read the article really well. The injured was behind the DECOY. IMO based solely on what’s been written in the above article, it appears to be unfortunate accident. Careless? Highly possible, on both sides. Suspicious low probability. Allowed to have a gun, needs education. Don’t shoot in the blind, or low light conditions. Same with injured needs education. Sitting behind a decoy, possibly wear bright colors if and when in the woods. Yes, a tragic event avoided; life lesson learned, for both parties.
JimboXYZ says
Thank you for the recognizance. As his caregiver & relative home health provider, before passing away in 2018, he shared what he rarely to never talked about of that era of his lifetime. After VE Day, still assigned to the Mighty Eighth, he returned from Europe & in California awaiting Pacific theater re-assignment. His brother (my Uncle) was already serving in the Pacific. The Atom bombs dropped on Hiroshima & Nagasaki, VJ Day and his siblings either stayed or came home. Uncle was much the same way about talking about WW2.
James says
Turkeys have superb vision… they apparently can see the full color spectrum. Deer on the other hand can’t see red.
As for hunting… hunters of wild turkey learn to home in on bits of red in the environment while searching out the animal wearing camouflage, with deer it’s apparently the opposite situation. All the more reason I suppose why they have “seasons” for hunting various game.
Imagine one group hunting deer and another hunting wild turkey.
Just an observation.
Marek says
Hunting is an act of cruelty . It is not a sport . But unfortunately it’s legal and poorly regulated as far as at least the functional! health of the hunters is concerned ( sight ,cognition ,etc) .
And bringing the children with you to the hunt ?
TR says
I was thinking the same thing. If he would have been wearing something bright, he wouldn’t have been shot at.
wallowisdom says
Why can’t we raise our own chickens and fowl in Plam Coast exactly? This needs to change .