Carter County man's shooting death ruled accidental

VAN BUREN, Mo. -- A Carter County man died Monday afternoon at a local hospital from a gunshot wound he suffered while cleaning a deer rifle.

The man is identified as Richmond "Ricky" Dawson, 42, according to a spokesman with the Carter County Sheriff's Department.

Dawson, who suffered one gunshot wound to the chest, died at 1:15 p.m. Monday at Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center, Carter County Coroner Dennis McSpadden said.

"It was an accidental thing; he was cleaning a gun and it went off and shot and killed him," McSpadden said.

The sheriff's department was notified by a relative of the shooting at 12:46 p.m., the spokesman said.

Sheriff Tommy Adams and a deputy responded to a home on County Road 202, off Highway 103 between Big Spring and Van Buren, she said.

"The man talked to them before he died," she said. "He said he was cleaning his gun, and it accidentally discharged. ... It was just one of them freak things."