80-Year-Old California Man Facing Murder Charges After Shooting Turkey Hunter in the Back of the Head

Turkey season is a great time to be out in the woods after a long winter. It’s a season many of us wait patiently all year for, looking forward to the possibility of some far-off gobbles on a crisp morning out in the turkey woods.

And while it’s a wonderful time to be afield, it also happens to be one of the most accident-prone seasons of all the hunting seasons. Given that many hunters are posted up in close proximity to one another, fully decked out in camo, calling in unsuspecting birds or even moving around to get a little closer to the action, turkey hunting season always results in a few unfortunate accidents.

Despite many of these accidents being non-fatal, mistaken identity and shooting at unconfirmed targets are among the leading causes of injury in the spring woods. 

Unfortunately, this same story line has followed an 80-year-old California man who is now behind bars after shooting another hunter on Sunday morning. 

The incident took place near the Fremont Weir Wildlife Area, just northwest of Sacramento. According to the Sutter County Sheriff’s Office, deputies responded to reports of a hunting incident around 9AM Sunday morning.

Upon arriving on the scene, they found 65-year-old Shawn Parrish with a gunshot wound to the back of his head. With first responders providing life-saving routines on Parrish, their efforts proved to be useless as he was soon pronounced dead at the scene. 

According to reports, the man who pulled the trigger was 80-year-old John Lee, also of Sacramento, who stated that he fired his shotgun into the bush, hoping to hit a turkey, but instead hit Parrish, admitting he was completely unaware of what he was aiming at.

The two men were not hunting together at the time of the incident. 

Following the brief investigation, Lee was taken into custody without incident and booked into the Sutter County Jail. Facing charges of second degree murder and negligent discharge of a firearm, the Sheriff’s Office stated that his bail was set at $1 million and that he is scheduled to be arraigned on Wednesday, April 9.