Eh Thon Gar, 22, male, joined a cousin and a friend for target practice on a late-spring Monday in rural Brown County, South Dakota. They drove to a secluded spot near an abandoned bridge roughly 10 miles north of Aberdeen, a place where informal shooting was common and legal. Two small children were with the group—a 4-year-old boy and a 1-year-old. As the adults focused on. 22-caliber rifles and cans set up for practice, the boy, eager to copy what he saw, picked up a rifle.
A single shot struck Gar in the abdomen. He was rushed to Avera St. Luke’s Hospital in Aberdeen and died the next day.
Investigators said the shooting was accidental. The county medical examiner later explained that the adults had underestimated how quickly a child might imitate them. Reports noted that the group’s backcountry target practice was not unusual for the area. The tragedy unfolded late on May 25, 2015, and authorities confirmed Gar succumbed to his injury the following day, leaving behind a wife and a young daughter.
Public accounts identified the location only generally—north of the city—and described the weapon as a. 22-caliber rifle fired when the child picked it up and it discharged. Local radio reporting, citing the area newspaper, said the death was ruled accidental and that Gar died about seven hours after being wounded. A national database of gun incidents logged the case in Brown County on May 25, 2015.
There were no arrests. No suspect was named, and officials did not indicate criminal charges would be pursued, emphasizing instead the accidental circumstances and the presence of very young children at the scene.
