A man who accidentally shot dead his son during a New Zealand hunting trip has been discharged from court without conviction during an emotion-charged sentencing on Tuesday, reports the Sydney Morning Herald.
Stephen Phillip Long, 61, admitted to “carelessly using a firearm” causing the death of his 24-year-old son Samuel Phillip Long.
The court ordered him released, along with the destruction of his rifle.
Mr Long’s family was in the public gallery.
The accident happened when Samuel Long left the bush hut they had slept in overnight, dressed in camouflage clothing and wearing a camouflage cap and carrying a backpack.
His father left the hut 45 minutes later, also wearing camouflage hunting gear.
He later saw what he believed were two white-tailed deer, and fired.
When he walked forward, he found he had fatally shot his son in the head.
