Although it is not known if Daniel King, from Cranston, Rhode Island is a hunter, he is definitely an archery enthusiast. Currently, he is also the least popular archer in the country. It seems Mr. King’s march towards infamy began when he was reportedly bored and took aim at a pigeon with his compound bow. Instead of harvesting his prey, his errant arrow bounced off some pavement and hit nine year-old Lexi Franco, who was walking with three other girls, in the back.
I put a call into Cranston police lieutenant, Matt Moyhahan, for some clarification on this story, but as of today, he has not yet returned my call. There has been no mention of whether King shot a broadhead or a field tipped arrow, but I would guess it was a blunt practice tip since the brave young Franco simply continued walking her dog home after being shot.
Franco’s sister, Angel Lucchetti, was with her at the time and explained, “We were just talking for a couple minutes and that’s when he shot Lexi. I thought it was one of those plastic ones, you know? Then I turned around and he was there just looking at us. Then she goes ‘Ow, ow,’ and the thing fell out…and I saw blood.” Lucchetti added, “She had a hole in her back over here. Like a big hole.”
Thankfully, the young Franco was treated and released at local Hasbro Children’s Hospital. It appears that she will recover just fine, albeit with a small scar and a big story.
To his credit, Mr. King immediately made his way to the crime scene, where police had just arrived, and surrendered with his hands in the air. According to police, he said, “I knew you were looking for me. It was an accident. Is she okay?” King was handcuffed and taken into custody where a background check revealed that he was on probation.
King was charged with criminal negligence the same day and was held overnight. The charge was an automatic probation violation. He was arraigned in a Warwick District Court on Wednesday, August 27th and held as a probation violator.
It is amazing that Franco did not sustain more serious injuries. Although there are no hard statistics on archery-related injuries and deaths in the United States, the National Safety Council has determined that archery and bowhunting combined are safer than golf, tennis, fishing, and swimming.
Everyone knows that you don’t aim a weapon in an unsafe direction, but it is not a stretch to say that Mr. King has learned this lesson the hard way.