An incident during a duck hunt resulted in the death of a teenager, while the man accused of operating the gun that killed him potentially faces decades in prison over the shooting.
On Jan. 20, 20-year-old Gaige Zook, 19-year-old Maurizio Justiniano and a third man, Jackson Harbor, went duck hunting along Wyoming’s North Platte River.
Details were scant when the shooting first occurred. Local Wyoming outlet KNEB reported days after the incident that there had been an accidental shooting that resulted in the death of Justiniano, but authorities then refused to release any additional information.
The case took a sudden turn just months later, however.
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On April 8, an arrest warrant for Zook was issued in Goshen County, Wyoming, in the fatal shooting of Justiniano, according to the Torrington Times.
“On or about January 20, 2024, Gaige Zook did involuntarily but recklessly and unlawfully kill a human being without malice, expressed or implied, to wit: Gaige Zook did involuntarily but recklessly and unlawfully kill Maurizio Justiniano,” the criminal warrant read.
A probable cause affidavit obtained by the newspaper revealed more details about the shooting.
Deputy Jason Lamb of the Goshen County Sheriff’s Office responded to the scene in January and conducted initial interviews with the surviving men.
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“The shooter, Gaige Zook, took me to the scene and talked me through what happened,” Lamb wrote in the affidavit obtained by the Times.
According to Lamb’s narrative in the affidavit, licensed hunters Zook and Harbor took Justiniano, who was unlicensed to hunt, out to the river to introduce him to the sport.
Trouble soon arose.
With decoys in the water, the first ducks landed on the river. Zook took aim, but his shotgun had a misfire.
“He leaned his gun up against the fallen tree they were sitting on,” Lamb wrote, “barrel pointing up.”
Using the other hunter’s shotgun, Zook was able to fire a round at the waterfowl but missed, the affidavit said. He then began to inspect his own malfunctioning firearm when tragedy struck.
“As he was trying to evaluate his firearm, due to the misfire, the shotgun discharged, striking Maurizio in the left side of his abdominal area,” the deputy wrote.
According to the Cowboy State Daily, Zook’s case rose to the felony-level Goshen County District Court on June 3 with a manslaughter charge.
The young man, who was able to make bond, faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted, the outlet reported.
While unresolved in a court of law, the case nonetheless serves as a cautionary tale on the importance of firearm safety basics.
