Hunter shot his best friend to death after mistaking him for a deer

Leeshawn Sutton, 65, accidentally shot his pal Bruce Best, also 65, with a 12-gauge shotgun in a wooded, swampy area in Oak Hill, Volusia County.

Authorities released Sutton's panic 911 call minutes after the accident.

'I'm out here in Oak Hill, I just killed my friend in a hunting accident,' he told dispatchers.

Emergency services had trouble locating him since he was deep into the woods of Volusia County.

Investigators say Sutton fired the shotgun in the wrong direction, fatally hitting his friend, after mistaking Best for a deer, ClickOrlando reports.

Detectives are calling the shooting a 'tragedy' but are still investigating the matter.

Ed Tyler, a man who has owned property inside the Oak Hill hunting camps for 25 years, told local MyNews13:

'I didn't really hunt with Bruce [Best] but I knew him well. He's been down to my cabin many, many times. He was just one of the old timers, lived in the woods. He was a woodsmen.'

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