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CULPEPER — A Culpeper man who accidentally shot his neighbor last June while trying to kill a rabid raccoon pleaded guilty last week to reckless handling of a firearm resulting in serious bodily injury, a class 6 felony.

Douglas A. Ward, 50, will be sentenced Sept. 9 in Culpeper County Circuit Court in the 2015 incident. Ward allegedly shot a female neighbor in the forearm while he attempted to shoot what he said was a rabid animal.

The neighbor was held overnight for observation at a hospital and was treated for non-life threatening injuries. She reportedly went outside to check on her children when she was struck by one of the bullets.

Town of Culpeper citizens are allowed to shoot guns within the town limits “for the control of varmints,” according to local ordinance. At the time, police Chief Chris Jenkins described the accidental shooting as an isolated incident and said that varmint hunting has generally not been a safety issue in town.

Ward was originally charged with misdemeanor reckless handling of a firearm until the charges were upgraded last year to unlawful wounding and unlawful shooting at a building, both class 6 felonies.