Police: Costumed Pa. Girl Mistaken For Skunk, Shot

Police say a costumed 9-year-old girl was accidentally shot outside a western Pennsylvania home during a Halloween party by a relative who thought she was a skunk.

Police outside home where girl was shot by her uncle who thought she was a skunk. (WPXI TV)

New Sewickley Township police say the girl was over a hillside and wearing a black costume and a black hat with a white tassel. Chief Ronald Leindecker says a male relative mistook her for a skunk and fired a shotgun, hitting her in the shoulder Saturday night.

Leindecker tells the Beaver County Times that the girl was alert and talking when she was flown to a hospital in Pittsburgh, about 30 miles away. Her condition was unavailable.

Leindecker says the man hadn't been drinking and he doesn't know whether charges will be filed.