By Ray Downs, UPI
A 14-year-old Utah boy was killed after he was hit by a target shooter's stray bullet while riding in a car with his family, police said Monday.
Zackary Kempke, of North Ogden, Utah was riding in the backseat of a car with his parents and sister when the bullet hit his head, killing him immediately.
"They went up for a drive to take pictures of the leaves changing when they heard an explosion in the back seat," Zackary's uncle, Cory Hopkins, told NBC News on Tuesday. "When my brother-in-law looked back he saw that his son was in his daughter's lap and there was blood everywhere."
According to the Rich County Sheriff's Office, the bullet came from an individual who was with a group doing target shooting a few hundred feet away from the road.
"The individual involved as well as witnesses stated that they did not know there was a road down range and could not see the vehicle as it traveled on the road due to thick brush and trees," the RCSO said in a statement. "Investigators from several agencies worked past dark on Sunday and several hours on Monday to reconstruct the scene. At this time, it appears to have been unintentional."
No charges have been filed against the shooter, whose name has not been released by law enforcement.
Hopkins told KSL-TV that Zackary was with his family to take photos to send to his older brother, who is serving as a missionary with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
"He was like the center of attention. He was a comic, he liked to make people laugh," Hopkins said. "But he had a serious side. He was very spiritual. ... He was a good kid. He was family-oriented."
Hopkins added: "He didn't even know what happened, he was gone that fast."
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