‘Hunting incident’ ends with 24-year-old man fatally shot in NC mountains, cops say

A 24-year-old North Carolina man died in a “hunting incident” that remains under investigation in the mountains of Burke County, law enforcement officials say.

It happened Monday, Nov. 20, in the Adventist Circle area northwest of Morganton, the Burke County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release. Morganton is about 75 miles northwest of Charlotte.

“Upon arrival, deputies located 24-year-old Ethan Hahn of Hildebran with a gunshot wound,” the sheriff’s office said.

“Hahn was pronounced deceased on the scene,” deputies said. “No foul play is suspected.”

The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission is investigating the incident and reports it happened at about 11 a.m. when Hahn “allegedly slipped and accidentally discharged his .243 CVA Scout pistol/rifle, shooting him in the upper right arm.”

“Ethan Hahn’s father ... found him with a gunshot wound in the woods on the Pisgah National Forest,” officials said in an email to McClatchy News. “He then called 911. The father rendered first aid and CPR until Burke County Sheriff’s Department arrived.”

Adventist Circle is an unpaved loop road in the national forest, northeast of Lake James State Park. Maps show the road encircles farm fields and is surrounded by wilderness.

Hahn’s home in the Hildebran area is about 35 miles southeast of Adventist Circle.

This story was originally published November 21, 2023 at 11:09 AM with the headline "‘Hunting incident’ ends with 24-year-old man fatally shot in NC mountains, cops say."