David Scott Hatch was a 21-year-old from Lovell, Wyoming, raised in Big Horn County and described by family as someone always willing to help. He graduated from Rocky Mountain High School in 2020 and was known for fixing generators, boat motors and other machinery, and for enjoying small-town outdoor life like fishing, camping and bonfires.

On the evening of Tuesday, November 28, 2023, Hatch was at the Yellowtail Habitat east of Lovell with three adult friends. After target shooting earlier, he picked up a gun he believed to be unloaded and the weapon discharged, striking him in the head. Friends began first aid and guided responders to the campsite; he was taken to North Big Horn Hospital and then flown to Billings Clinic with an unsurvivable head injury. He died in the early hours of Saturday, December 2, 2023.

Big Horn County investigators concluded the shooting was accidental, found no evidence of criminal behavior, and no one present was charged. Hatch’s family consented to organ donation; his mother later said his donations had already saved eight lives. If anyone has information about that night or knew David, please share what you remember.