On December 7, 2006, 18-year-old Megan Ripley was walking with her younger brother in the woods behind the family farmhouse in Paris, Maine, when a single muzzleloader bullet struck her in the chest. She was taken to Stephens Memorial Hospital in Norway and was pronounced dead shortly after arrival.

The Maine Warden Service investigated. The hunter identified as the shooter, Timothy Bean, said he thought he was aiming at a deer. Bean was charged with manslaughter; he later pleaded guilty. In 2007 a judge sentenced him to two years, with all but 30 days suspended, and required him to speak at hunter safety courses. Megan’s father, Troy Ripley, went on to advocate for hunting safety reforms in Maine.