Father Accidentally Shoots Daughter While Targeting Buzzard: Police Report

An Illinois man was charged with a felony after police said he shot his 14-year-old daughter while trying to kill a buzzard.

Monroe County Sheriff’s Department reported that 34-year-old David Schultheis turned himself in following a warrant for his arrest on charges of reckless firearm discharge. In the wake of his daughter Emma Schultheis’s death on July 21, investigations revealed he had attempted to shoot a buzzard inside a brick office in Waterloo, Illinois, using a handgun.

Police said Schultheis fired at the bird without looking.

A police statement described how Schultheis “inserted only his arm into the room — keeping his head outside to avoid ricochet — prior to firing.” The bullet allegedly “hit the buzzard, passed through, exited through a window, and tragically struck his daughter, Emma Schultheis, who was waiting outside.”

Officers arrived at around 1:34 p.m. on July 21 and found Emma wounded. Despite efforts by medical staff, she was pronounced dead at the hospital. She was less than a week away from turning 15.

Authorities also discovered that 58-year-old Karen Schwarze allegedly tried to hide Emma’s death and the Taurus .40 caliber pistol Schultheis used. She is accused of attempting to “influence others to withhold information from law enforcement during the investigation’s initial phase,” police said. Her exact connection to Schultheis was not disclosed.

Schultheis was processed and released after turning himself in on a reckless discharge charge. Monroe County Sheriff Neal Rohlfing informed the Bellville News-Democrat that a pretrial detention request was not filed. Schultheis was set to appear in court on Thursday.

Schwarze was due to surrender soon, facing charges of concealing a homicidal death and obstruction of justice.

Sheriff Rohlfing told the Bellville News-Democrat that the shooting was “not intentional,” adding, “We feel terrible for the family and friends.”