An Atlanta man was shot and killed Saturday by his brother while on a hunting trip with family members in South Carolina, an official said.

The brother of Brian Gregory Pickle, 30, mistook him for a small doe or a coyote, Union County Sheriff David Taylor said Tuesday afternoon.

Brian Pickle and Scott Leonard Pickle had the same Roswell Road address, Taylor said. Their father, who lives in Arlington Heights, Ill., also was in the hunting party.

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The incident happened shortly before 6 p.m., not long before nightfall on land leased for hunting, Taylor said. Because darkness was near, Pickle’s brother said he felt limited in time to take a shot, never thinking it could’ve been a person, Taylor said.

“We see these types of accidents all too frequently,” Taylor said.

The autopsy showed that the victim died of a gunshot wound to the head, coroner William Holcombe said.

“It was a family hunting outing turned horribly tragic,” the coroner said.

The South Carolina Department of Natural Resources is investigating the incident.