A Wisconsin sheriff's deputy has been charged with four felonies after allowing his three-year-old daughter to fire the shot that wounded a fellow deputy and his seven-year-old son during a turkey hunt. Deputy James Lehman, 35, of Union Grove, told investigators he mistook something for a turkey's head and had his daughter pull the trigger while the pair hunted at the Honey Creek Wildlife Area in April, causing widespread injuries to the unnamed father and son, who were taking part in a youth hunting event nearby. The case has drawn scrutiny over hunting safety exemptions and Lehman's lack of formal training, raising questions about oversight in Wisconsin's hunter education rules.

Lehman was charged on 17 August with two counts of reckless injury and two counts of negligent use of a weapon. His coworker, 40, was struck in the back, torso, hand, forearm and upper arm, while the man's seven-year-old son suffered severe head bleeding and has undergone multiple surgeries, with pellets still lodged in his spine, skull and brain. Lehman admitted he was inexperienced at turkey hunting and lacked a hunter safety certificate, though he was exempt due to prior military service; he has been on administrative leave since 12 April, and the sheriff's office is now conducting its own inquiry alongside the ongoing criminal case, with Lehman due in court on 10 September.