A 30-year-old man and his 9-year-old daughter were shot to death in South Carolina by a fellow hunter who mistook them for deer.

30-year-old Kim Drawdy and 9-year-old Lauren Drawdy were in a hunting party of 4 as they were working to get their prey into the firing range at about 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday.

As they were trying to get the deer into the firing range, deadly gunfire rang out at the scene.

The incident happened in Walterboro, which is located 50 miles west of Charleston, South Carolina.

A statement was released by the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources and it said, “Four hunters were attempting to move deer, also known as driving deer.”

The statement added, “When two hunters were shot after being mistaken for a deer. Those two hunters succumbed to their injuries.”

The state Department of Natural Resources announced they have launched an investigation for the killings.

Benny Drawdy, the brother of Kim Drawdy, the father and a victim of the incident, released a statement about the incident.

During an interview with WIS-TV, Benny said, “I was devastated, I couldn’t believe it when I first got the news. I said, ‘It couldn’t be.’ It broke my heart and I couldn’t believe it.”

According to Richard Harvey, the County Coroner of Colleton said the victims were shot by one of their 2 fellow hunters.

It wasn’t immediately clear if the 2 victims of the incident were wearing blaze-orange clothing. This type of clothing helps hunters differentiate people from their prey.

The incident happened on private property.

Shirley Williams, a family friend of the victims, was shocked after she got to know about the unfortunate incident.

Shirley said, “It should have never happened, should have never happened. How some simple hunting trip can turn into a tragedy is beyond me. I don’t know how it could possibly happen.”

The South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR) has launched an investigation for the incident.

Our prayers and thoughts are with the family of the victims.