Boys 8, 9 Charged With Involuntary Manslaughter

Two young boys have been charged with involuntary manslaughter in the shooting death of 62 year old Danny Smith. Authorities say deputies with the Oconee County Sheriff’s Office responded to an area near Westminster after receiving a call from Smith’s wife saying she went to the property to look for her husband and was unable to find him. Deputies arrived and found him unresponsive and slumped over the steering wheel of his tractor which was still running but had gone down an embankment and hit a tree. After an autopsy it was determined that Smith had died from a gunshot wound to the back. Oconee County Sheriff Mike Crenshaw said “after a consultation with the solicitor’s office, and based on the evidence obtained in our ongoing investigation, we believe that both juvenile males discharged a firearm in a reckless manner in the direction of Mr. Smith who was bush hogging on some family property.” It is not known which shot was fatal and an investigation into the shooting is ongoing.