A routine evening walk turned into a fatal case of mistaken identity as a hunter opened fire on a mother with her two children

A routine evening walk through a Delaware field ended in tragedy after a hunter allegedly mistook a woman for a deer and opened fire. The woman, 39-year-old Santos Maria Chilel Soto, was walking with a man and two children when she was struck by a rifle shot.

Per ABC, the hunter, identified as 74-year-old Walter Moorhead of Salisbury, Maryland, was hunting from a ground blind when he believed he saw a deer. He fired his rifle and struck Soto, who was later pronounced dead at a hospital.

According to the report, the preliminary investigation found that Soto was “walking through the field with a man and two children” while Moorhead was hunting deer from a ground blind. Police said Moorhead “believed he saw a deer and fired his rifle, striking the victim.”

The shooting happened as a family was walking through the field

The shooting happened near Ellendale, Delaware, after Soto and the group entered the field. Police said troopers responded after receiving a report that a woman had been shot.

When officers arrived, they provided lifesaving medical treatment to Soto at the scene. She was then transported to a hospital, where she was later pronounced dead from her injuries.

The investigation identified Soto as a resident of Georgetown, Delaware. Her death left the circumstances of the shooting at the center of the homicide investigation. This has police examining how Moorhead identified his target before firing.

Moorhead was arrested and charged with felony manslaughter. He also faces three counts of first-degree reckless endangerment and a charge of possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony.

In a report by NBC, the reckless endangerment charges relate to the presence of the other people in the field when the rifle was fired. Police have not alleged that Moorhead intentionally targeted Soto or the other people, instead describing the shooting as the result of him believing he had seen a deer. Moorhead was arraigned in Justice of the Peace Court and released after posting a $43,000 cash bond.