Ashnbri
08-06-2007, 08:58 PM
Cop shoots at snake, kills boy, 5
Story Highlights
Austin Haley, 5, was shot in head while fishing with his grandfather
Police officer who fired shot was aiming at a snake
Snake was in a tree, hissing at people
The grandfather, Jack Tracy, says he thought someone was trying to kill him
Austin Haley was fishing with his grandfather, Jack Tracy, when Tracy said he heard a shot and saw something hit the water just a few feet in front of the boat dock where he was standing.
Moments later, a second shot hit Austin in the head.
A Noble police officer who had responded to a report of a snake in a tree apparently fired the deadly shot while trying to kill the snake on Friday, City Manager Bob Wade said.
"I was told that they tried several ways to get the snake down, but it was still hissing at them and firmly lodged," Wade said. "What I was told is that the owner of the home either suggested or agreed that they should go ahead and shoot the snake, and then everything happened from there."
Tracy thought someone must be trying to kill him and his grandson, so he put the child on the back of a 4-wheeler and drove to his daughter's house about 200 yards away.
"Then two officers came out of the brush over there," he told The Oklahoman. "They didn't tell us they were the ones who had been shooting or that they had shot him. They didn't admit a doggone thing."
The boy was pronounced dead at an Oklahoma City hospital, about 25 miles north of Noble.
Wade refused to identify the officer but said the person had been placed on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation.
Story Highlights
Austin Haley, 5, was shot in head while fishing with his grandfather
Police officer who fired shot was aiming at a snake
Snake was in a tree, hissing at people
The grandfather, Jack Tracy, says he thought someone was trying to kill him
Austin Haley was fishing with his grandfather, Jack Tracy, when Tracy said he heard a shot and saw something hit the water just a few feet in front of the boat dock where he was standing.
Moments later, a second shot hit Austin in the head.
A Noble police officer who had responded to a report of a snake in a tree apparently fired the deadly shot while trying to kill the snake on Friday, City Manager Bob Wade said.
"I was told that they tried several ways to get the snake down, but it was still hissing at them and firmly lodged," Wade said. "What I was told is that the owner of the home either suggested or agreed that they should go ahead and shoot the snake, and then everything happened from there."
Tracy thought someone must be trying to kill him and his grandson, so he put the child on the back of a 4-wheeler and drove to his daughter's house about 200 yards away.
"Then two officers came out of the brush over there," he told The Oklahoman. "They didn't tell us they were the ones who had been shooting or that they had shot him. They didn't admit a doggone thing."
The boy was pronounced dead at an Oklahoma City hospital, about 25 miles north of Noble.
Wade refused to identify the officer but said the person had been placed on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation.