A teenager was shot and injured in Oddar Meanchey province on Monday night when a hunter mistook him for a wild animal, police said on Tuesday.
Chieu Sith, 18, was walking home with three friends after an excursion through the Dangrek Mountains in Trapaing Prasat district when a hunter opened fire with a homemade rifle at about 10 p.m., hitting the teenager once in each leg, according to Yim Yart, chief of the district police’s serious crimes section.
The hunter fled after realizing his mistake, Mr. Yart said, but Mr. Sith’s friends later identified him as 42-year-old Him Ros, a resident of their village.
“Ros shot Sith one time with the homemade gun when he saw that the forest was shaking at night because he thought a wild animal was hiding there,” he said. “The shooter escaped, but we are currently looking for him.”
The section chief said Mr. Sith and his friends had likely been searching for valuable rosewood trees on the mountain even though they were not found with any timber in their possession after the shooting.
He said Mr. Sith was receiving treatment for his gunshot wounds at the Siem Reap Provincial Referral Hospital.
