ANNAPOLIS - Maryland’s most popular deer hunting season opened Saturday, November 25. The Maryland Natural Resources Police (NRP) reported a busy, but safe, opening weekend for the modern firearms deer season.
NRP made 3,112 contacts, (a 35.8 percent increase from last year) and responded to 190 incidents over the weekend. Officers issued 143 citations, (a 26.5 percent increase from last year) and 269 warnings. Officers investigated two hunting accidents over the weekend, which is one less than last year’s opening weekend.
The first accident occurred on Saturday, November 25 at 7:40 a.m. in Talbot County. A 15-year old boy from Trappe was deer hunting on private property when his 20-gauge shotgun malfunctioned and exploded in his hand. The youth stated that when he shot a deer earlier the gun had operated correctly, and when he fired a second time at another deer the firearm sounded “muffled”. When he fired a third time the malfunction occurred. He was transported by family to Memorial Hospital in Easton where he was treated and released with non-life threatening injuries. The incident is still under investigation.
NRP responded to Memorial Hospital in Easton again on Sunday afternoon to a report of a subject shot while hunting quail. Frederick Thomas Kaszubski, of Staten Island, NY, was treated and released for non-life threatening injuries he sustained after allegedly being shot by Wolfgang H. Schmid, of White House, NJ. The two were hunting quail at 1 p.m. on a regulated shooting area near Denton in Caroline County. Schmid shot in the direction of Kaszubski as a quail flew between them. Kaszubski was struck with 4 pellets to the head and left hand. This incident is also still under investigation and charges are pending.