COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) -- The U.S. Forest Service has indefinitely closed a shooting range where a man was accidentally shot and killed.
Pike National Forest Supervisor Bob Leaverton said Tuesday the area on Rampart Range in Colorado Springs will undergo a safety review.
Twenty-five-year-old Otis Freison of Aurora was shot in the chest at the unsupervised range on Saturday.
“The recent fatal shooting of a forest visitor is a great concern to me,” said Leaverton. “We are deeply troubled anytime a forest visitor is seriously injured or killed while enjoying their time on the forest.”
The emergency closure will allow forest officials an opportunity to examine all of the facts of the incident, talk to the many partners involved with the shooting range, and take a more thorough look at the current use of this area.
“We will close this area for as long as it takes to review the health and safety issues to the shooting public and our employees before we decide on a course of action,” said Leaverton
El Paso County authorities say the shooting appears accidental. No criminal charges have been filed.
The shooting range opened in 1990 and is used by 40,000 people a year. Leaverton says a panel will be assembled to review safety issues.
Leaverton added that the “bottom line is it is our goal to provide for safe and quality experiences when people visit their national forests.”
The Rampart Shooting Range was opened in 1990 and is located north of the Garden of the Gods.
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
Additional information provided by U.S. Forest Service.
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