Man in Jizzakh shoots friend after mistaking him for wild boar

On October 5, 2025, a 32-year-old man in Mirzacho‘l district of Jizzakh region shot his friend with a hunting rifle while on a hunt. QALAMPIR.UZ reviewed the relevant court ruling.

According to the case materials, the defendant, identified as G.A. from Ishtikhon district of Samarkand region, went hunting on October 5 with his acquaintances O.M., G.T., and T.G. They traveled to farmland located in the Gulzor mahalla of Mirzacho‘l district.

That evening, at around 22:30, the group attempted to hunt a wild boar using a firearm. While sitting among reeds, G.A. noticed movement emerging from the reeds and mistakenly assumed it was a wild boar. Acting hastily and negligently, he fired his hunting rifle, which belonged to him, at O.M., who was approaching. As a result, O.M. sustained a gunshot wound to the left rear part of his head and died despite receiving emergency medical assistance from doctors at the Mirzacho‘l District Medical Association.

The case was heard on December 5, 2025, at the Mirzacho‘l District Criminal Court. During the hearing, the defendant testified and fully admitted his guilt. He stated that he had been legally engaged in hunting for the past two years. On the day of the incident, he and his friends had gone to Mirzacho‘l district for leisure and spent the daytime fishing. Toward the evening, they noticed tracks of a wild boar and agreed to hunt it. The group then positioned themselves 100–200 meters apart. At around 22:30, G.A. noticed a silhouette nearby and, assuming it was a boar, fired a shot. In court, he said he had known the deceased, O.M., for about a year, had no personal conflict with him, and asked for leniency.

The victim’s father also testified at the court hearing, stating that there had been no disagreements between his son and the defendant. He asked the court to impose a sentence not involving deprivation of liberty.

The court found G.A. guilty under Article 102, Part 1 of the Criminal Code (causing death by negligence). In accordance with Article 45 of the Criminal Code (deprivation of certain rights), he was stripped of his right to hunt for one year and sentenced to one year and six months of corrective labor, with 20 percent of his wages to be withheld in favor of the state.

It is worth noting that earlier, in Yangiarik district of Khorezm region, a 71-year-old father shot and killed his 51-year-old son with a hunting rifle.