A man in Montana was shot at by a hunter who mistook him for Sasquatch. Welcome to 2019.

The victim told police that he was out in the woods setting up for target practice just before Christmas when somebody started shooting at him, the Idaho Statesman report. The hunter, still unidentified by police, took several shots at the victim from a black Ford F-150, missing him by as little as 3 feet (just under a meter).

Once the shooting had stopped, the man approached the vehicle. Upon closer inspection, the shooter realized that the person he was shooting at was a person, not a Sasquatch.

“I thought you were Bigfoot,” the hunter told his intended victim, according to the local sheriff. “I don’t target practice – but if I see something that looks like Bigfoot, I just shoot at it.”

The 27-year-old human person, who, to clarify, is not a Bigfoot, helpfully explained to the shooter that he was not a Sasquatch. At this point the shooter allegedly told the man that in that case, he should wear orange, to alert potential hunters.

Lewis and Clark County Sheriff Leo Dutton told the Idaho Statesman that initially they were skeptical about the account of events from the victim, who waited a few days to report the alleged crime. However, after reports of the incident appeared in the Helena Record a woman came forward to say she had also been shot at by a man in a black Ford-150. The woman was able to provide police with a better description of the suspect.

“We’re working to find this person,” Sheriff Dutton told the Idaho Statesman. “It is of great concern that this individual might think it’s okay to shoot at anything he thinks is Bigfoot.”

It's unclear why the man would shoot at something he believed to be Bigfoot rather than, for example, contact the authorities. Especially given that he was safely in his vehicle at the time and could easily have driven away from any Bigfoot-related danger.

The police are now searching for further leads, and say that he could be charged with attempted negligent homicide.

In the meantime, stay safe and wear orange. It's possible there is a man out there driving around shooting at things he believes to be Bigfoot, and learning nothing from numerous incidents where it turned out not to be Bigfoot. 

So far there is no hard evidence that Sasquatch actually exists. Genetic analysis has revealed potential "yeti" samples to be anything from a bear to a dog. If you do come across one though, the automatic response doesn't have to be to shoot it dead. As this woman, who tried to sue California for refusing to recognize Bigfoot as a species pointed out, if it is real then it is critically endangered and steps should be taken to protect it.