Police chief shoots dead best friend in hunting accident

A police chief of a small Tennessee town shot and killed his lifelong best friend in a hunting accident.

Virgil McNeese was hunting turkey when he fired into bushes where 41-year-old Stanley Whitman was standing.

Father of four Whitman was airlifted to hospital but later died from his injuries.

McNeese has been chief of police for the town of Monteagele in Tennessee since 2006 and is a 19 year veteran on the force.

The two men were hunting in a pasture in Richard City, near the Alabama border, that well known by locals as a prime spot to hunt wild turkeys.

Whitman’s son, who reportedly was on the turkey hunt, ran to a nearby home to get help after the shooting, according to WRCB.

Where it happened: The field where McNeese reportedly shot Whitman dead

‘Our hearts are with the families and everyone affected, it was a terrible thing to see,’ said Adam Higgins, who heard the fatal shot.

‘I was getting ready for work and I heard a gunshot went off. Normally, up here, it wouldn’t be something you’d be concerned about.’

But he said as emergency vehicles arrived he knew something was wrong.

Marion County District Attorney Mike Taylor said it was too early to say whether McNeese could face criminal charges.

Whittman was placed on life support but family members agreed to switch it off after doctors told them he was brain dead.

Exposing the Big Game