Alex Trelinski
AN Alicante area rabbit hunter bagged some bigger prey after shooting a cyclist in the back.
The bizarre incident happened on Sunday morning on the Monte Orgegia forest trail which is popular with mountain bikers and walkers.
The area is not regarded as a regular haunt for rabbit hunters.
The cyclist, Jose Miguel Toran, was going up the trail when he saw two hunters.
A few metres further along, a third man somehow mistook him for a rabbit and discharged the equivalent of a hundred pellets.
They went into Jose Miguel’s lower back as well as causing him leg and arm injuries.
Fortunately no vital organs were hit and initially 20 pellets were removed by medical staff.
Doctors will monitor the state of his other wounds to see if further treatment will be necessary.
The cyclist is considering filing a complaint against the hunter but he told SER Radio Alicante that he did believe it was a genuine accident.
The Policia Nacional is investigating whether the hunter, who did have a shooting licence, should be charged with a crime of recklessness.
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