On Saturday, November 16, 2013, at about 2:00 pm, the Readington Township Police were dispatched to a Higginsville Road location for a report of a nine year old boy who was struck with pellets fired from a shotgun; the boy was hunting with his father at the time of the incident.

The boy's father told officers that he and his two juvenile sons were hunting in a sorghum field off Higginsville Road; the property they were hunting on is a privately owned piece of land that the father's hunting club leases out.

The boy's father told officers there was another group of hunters, also members of his hunting club, who were hunting approximately seventy yards from the father and his sons. Those three hunters were identified as follows:

Joseph Kuta, 81 years old, of Bridgewater, NJ

Robert Kelly, 63 years old, of Millburn, NJ

Sharon Kelly, 59 years old, of Millburn, NJ

Kuta, R. Kelly, and S. Kelly remained on scene and cooperated with officers.

The father said he and his sons were all wearing hunter safety orange and were walking through a three and a half foot sorghum field which was slightly elevated from the adjacent field.

The father said the other hunters flushed out a pheasant and fired two shots at which time his nine year old son was struck with five pellets in his chest and one pellet which struck the boy in his face.

Officers noticed the boy was upset but he and his father declined medical attention at that time. The officers observed that the pellets went through the boy's clothing and left abrasions on the boy but did not appear to have penetrated the boy's skin.

Due to the nature of the incident, New Jersey Division of Fish and Game Conservation officers were summoned to the scene to investigate the incident. The investigation is on-going; no charges have been filed at this time.