Boater shot: Good aim, poor impulse control

Story By Bart Pfankuch

PARRISH ‹ A boater whose engine wake turned over a canoe on the Manatee River Sunday afternoon was shot in the buttocks after one of the canoeists fired a gun in retaliation for being swamped, authorities said.

The incident happened around 5:15 p.m. Sunday near the Fort Hamer boat landing on the north bank of the Manatee River near Parrish when the boat swamped the canoe and turned it over, a sheriff¹s report said. It was not clear if the swamping was intentional, the report said.

Afterwards, witnesses told deputies that one of the canoeists fired a shot or two in the direction of the boaters, striking 20-year-old David Mays in the buttocks.

EMS officials were already at the landing for an unrelated incident so they treated Mays before taking him to Manatee Memorial Hospital. Authorities intend to test the bullet to provide evidence in the case; three suspects were listed in the report as possible shooters.

A police dog searched the area for a weapon but did not find one. Mays¹ injury was not life-threatening, the report said.

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