West Virginia Employee Accidentally Shoots Self With Elk Tranquilizer Gun

A West Virginia state employee accidentally shot himself in the leg with an elk tranquilizer gun. Image by David Osborn

An employee of West Virginia’s Division of Natural Resources is recovering after getting shot with a tranquilizer gun while working with an elk.

According to wtrf.com, the young man was helping tranquilize elk that will be transported to the Mountain State when he accidentally shot himself in the leg with a tranquilizer gun.

West Virginia Governor Jim Justice said during his State of the State Address, “Now that’s not a good day, because the elk is a 500-pound animal and you just took a tranquilizer dart for a 500-pound animal and you may weigh 150 pounds. Not a good day at all.”

The Governor said the man was sent to Nashville for treatment.

The director of the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources, Brett McMillion, provided an update on the man.

“We had a little bit of a snafu,” McMillion said. “The good news is, and we’re still praying for him, it was really touch and go. That’s a really serious mixture of tranquilizers that’s in that mix. It was reported to me from the family that the ventilator tube was removed and we are really hoping he gets to come back to West Virginia today.”

Forty elk will be introduced to the state’s growing herd in 2024. A visitors center and observation tower in Logan County will help tourists and wildlife enthusiasts see the animals in a natural setting.