Hayden Drake Bonta, 17, died from a single gunshot wound to the chest on December 29, 2023, while hunting in the Blackhawk area off County Road 163 in Carroll County near Coila. Emergency responders including the Carroll County Sheriff’s Department, Medstat, and officers from the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks responded; the Carroll County Coroner, Mark Stiles, pronounced him dead at the scene.

Authorities describe the incident as a hunting accident and both the Sheriff’s Department and the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks opened investigations; preliminary findings suggest the shooting was accidental. Hayden was a student at Ocean Springs High School, a two-time state champion lacrosse player, and described in his obituary as loving fishing, hunting, and welding and being generous with a good sense of humor. Funeral services were held January 3, 2024, at First Baptist Church of Ocean Springs and he was buried in Geiger Family Cemetery in Collins, Mississippi.

If anyone was in the Blackhawk area on December 29, 2023, or has information about the circumstances of the shooting, please share what you know.