A 25-year Riverside County sheriff’s deputy died from a bullet wound on Sunday, Oct. 12, after a hunting accident in rural Idaho.

Lt. Nathan Thomas Kaas, 48, was preparing to hunt mule deer with a friend in the Caribou-Targhee National Forest shortly before 6 a.m. when the friend pulled a rifle from its case in their vehicle, and it accidentally discharged, Clark County Sheriff Mark McClure said Tuesday. The bullet struck Kaas in the thigh in a spot that caused severe bleeding.

Kaas died before McClure and his deputy could arrive to help him, the sheriff said. The death was ruled an accident, and no charges will be filed, McClure said.

Kaas began his sheriff’s career in April of 2000. He held the ranks of investigator, sergeant and lieutenant and was most recently assigned to the Sherif

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