'Frustrated' Pennsylvania homeowner shoots deer-spotting girl Cortney Snyder

Mike Gallagher

Nov 17, 2012 - 05:37

Nov 17, 2012 - 05:45

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'Frustrated' Pennsylvania homeowner shoots deer-spotting girl Cortney Snyder

Cortney Snyder was on a deer-spotting trip with her father when she was shot, telling him 'I love you,' before passing out from shock

A 17-year-old Pennsylvania girl is recovering from emergency surgery after being shot on a deer-spotting trip in rural Fayette County by a man frustrated with poaching.

I'm feeling pretty rough," Cortney Snyder said from her hospital bed at UPMC Mercy. "The thing that hurts the most is my chest and my hands. I had open heart surgery."

Read more: http://www.wtae.com/news/local/fayette/-Frustrated-homeowner-shoots-deer-spotting-girl-in-Fayette-County/-/10931844/17374748/-/q0y15x/-/index.html#ixzz2CUGXwClE

'I'm feeling pretty rough,' Cortney Snyder said in video taken by cell phone while she recovered at UPMC Mercy. 'The thing that hurts the most is my chest and hands. I had open heart surgery.'

Cortney was on a deer-spotting trip with her father, Rick Synder late Sunday night, when the girl was hit with the spray from a 12 gauge Mossberg pump action shotgun.

Recovering: Cortney Snyder had to have open heart surgery before the pellets pierced her heart, and still has some of the buckshot in her face, arms, and hands

'She looked at me and she said, 'Dad, I'm hit,' and I said, 'Cortney, look at me,' and she looked at me and said 'I love you,' and I don't know if it was from shock or what but she passed out,' Rick told WTAE.

State police said Jeremy James Pritts admitted to firing shots because he said he was 'frustrated with spotting and poaching in the area.'

Snyder told police that she was in a pickup truck with her father, mother, and one more unidentified person on Foxburg Road when she saw a flash, heard a bang, and fell over.

Happy girl: Snyder was hit while in a pickup truck with her parents

Terrified: Father Rick Snyder said he'll never forget how it felt to almost lose his girl

She still has pellets lodged in her fingers, knuckles, right arm, and face.

She had to undergo open heart surgery to remove one of the pellets from her heart.

Her sister, Nikki, said her lif may have been saved by her thick sweatshirt.

Outdoors: Snyder was deer-spotting with her family when she was shot

Frustrated: Pitt told police he started shooting because he was frustrated by poachers and deer-spotters on the land

'Where she was penetrated there was thick stitching, and the pellet went through the stitching and slowed it down enough that it didn't puncture her heart,' Nikki said.

Pritts was arrested and charged with aggravated assault, simple assault, and reckless endangerment.

e advised that he used a 12 gauge Mossberg pump action shotgun."

Read more: http://www.wtae.com/news/local/fayette/-Frustrated-homeowner-shoots-deer-spotting-girl-in-Fayette-County/-/10931844/17374748/-/q0y15x/-/index.html#ixzz2CUHcp2hV

Police have charged a man with aggravated assault for allegedly shooting a teenage girl who was using a spotlight to look for deer near his southweste Pennsylvania home.

State police say Jeremy James Pritts shot a 17-year-old girl Sunday night after she used a spotlight from the back of a pickup on an outing with her parents.

Investigators say pellets from the shotgun struck Cortney Snyder in the arms, face, chest and abdomen. Her parents called an ambulance from their nearby home.

Police say Pritts admitted firing at the light, saying he was frustrated with spotters and poachers in the area. He was released on bail Tuesday following his arraignment. Court records don't list an attoey for him.

Snyder is recovering following surgery.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/news/crime/article/Police-Pa-man-shot-teen-spotting-deer-4035903.php#ixzz2CUDusE2B

Police have charged a man with aggravated assault for allegedly shooting a teenage girl who was using a spotlight to look for deer near his southweste Pennsylvania home.

State police say Jeremy James Pritts shot a 17-year-old girl Sunday night after she used a spotlight from the back of a pickup on an outing with her parents.

Investigators say pellets from the shotgun struck Cortney Snyder in the arms, face, chest and abdomen. Her parents called an ambulance from their nearby home.

Snyder is recovering following surgery.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/news/crime/article/Police-Pa-man-shot-teen-spotting-deer-4035903.php#ixzz2CUDpCZfE

Police have charged a man with aggravated assault for allegedly shooting a teenage girl who was using a spotlight to look for deer near his southweste Pennsylvania home.

State police say Jeremy James Pritts shot a 17-year-old girl Sunday night after she used a spotlight from the back of a pickup on an outing with her parents.

Investigators say pellets from the shotgun struck Cortney Snyder in the arms, face, chest and abdomen. Her parents called an ambulance from their nearby home.

Snyder is recovering following surgery.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/news/crime/article/Police-Pa-man-shot-teen-spotting-deer-4035903.php#ixzz2CUDpCZfE

He is out on $10,000 unsecured bond