Man charged in Linn County after accidentally shooting child in head with bird shot

A man was arrested Monday on charges that he shot a 12-year-old boy in the head with bird shot after he saw movement in a row of bushes and thought the child was a groundhog.

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Kevin Lawrence Gouchee, 62, is charged with reckless use of a firearm, and he may be facing more charges as the investigation continues, according to a news release from the Linn County Sheriff’s Office.

The Linn County Sheriff’s Office, Mount Vernon/Lisbon Police Department, Iowa State Patrol, Iowa DNR, Mount Vernon/Lisbon Fire Department and Mount Vernon/Lisbon Ambulance responded to the report of the shooting, which happened at 1:35 p.m. Monday at 975 River Bay, in rural Mount Vernon.

The 12-year-old boy was fishing along the Cedar River behind a row of bushes, and Gouchee told police he thought the movement was a groundhog, the release states. He aimed a .410 shotgun from about 90 feet away and shot one shell containing bid shot, which hit the boy in the back of the head.

The boy, who was not identified, was in serious but stable condition, with an injury that appeared to be non-life-threatening, when the ambulance left to take him to the University of Iowa Health Care Medical Center in Iowa City.

Gouchee was placed under arrest and taken to the Linn County Jail. A criminal complaint with more details about his charges was not yet available Monday.

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