Roberto Garcia, 61, of Baton Rouge, was fatally shot while deer hunting in the Sandy Hollow Wildlife Management Area near Kentwood, Louisiana, on the morning of December 28, 2024. The shooting happened at about 8:45 a.m.; by the time first responders arrived Garcia had died and his body was received by the Tangipahoa Parish Coroner’s Office.

State wildlife officials say another hunter in the area fired a .45 caliber muzzleloader and struck Garcia. The shooter told authorities he had been aiming at a deer and did not see Garcia behind the target because of dense vegetation. The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries is investigating the fatal shooting; as of late December 2024 the shooter’s identity had not been released and no charges had been filed. Authorities reiterated standard hunter-safety cautions, including wearing hunter orange and being certain of the target and what is beyond it.

Did anyone in the area that morning see or hear activity that could help clarify how this happened?