A routine hunting outing near County Road 500 West in rural Fulton County, Indiana, ended in tragedy late on Saturday, February 28, 2026. Thirty-one-year-old Andrew Boots of North Judson was hunting raccoons with friends and family when a participant fired at an animal in a tree. The bullet reportedly ricocheted off the tree and struck Boots in the abdomen. Emergency crews arrived about 10:30 p.m.; he was flown to Memorial Hospital in South Bend and died the next day, March 1, 2026.

The Indiana Department of Natural Resources led an inquiry, joined by the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office and Indiana State Police. Authorities described the event as a tragic hunting accident and said no foul play is suspected; no arrests or charges have been mentioned. Boots was a husband and father of two young sons, an owner/operator truck driver and one of ten siblings, remembered for fishing, working on projects and playing outdoors with his boys.

What details about the ricochet or the hunt might help explain how this fatal shot occurred for those who were there or nearby?