Staff Report

Ethan Bryan Woodson

SYRACUSE – Two men are facing criminal recklessness charges after a hunter was shot in the leg in Syracuse.

Ethan Bryan Woodson, 26, 11925 N. Sir Gallahad Place, Cromwell; and Michael Andrew Beer, 26, 5360 E. Creekside Trail, Syracuse, are each charged with criminal recklessness committed with a deadly weapon, a level 6 felony; and use of private land without consent, a class C misdemeanor.

On Nov. 22, 2025, an Indiana Conservation officer responded to a report of a male hunter being hit by a bullet while hunting near Syracuse.

According to court documents, the hunter said he was on his privately owned land when he heard gunfire and several projectiles hitting the trees in his vicinity.

When the hunter exited his hunting platform, he heard more gunshots and was hit in the left leg by a projectile. The hunter yelled loudly that he was shot, walked to his property’s boundary, and saw Beer and Woodson.

Beer allegedly told the officer he and Woodson were shooting behind a house at a metal drum from a back porch and driveway for about one hour when the hunter approached them. Woodson provided one unspent cartridge from his firearm, and it matched the projectile located in the hunter’s pant leg.

The officer noted Woodson and Beer shot at a target about 39 yards from the back porch without an adequate back stop, with the projectile hitting the hunter about 210 yards away.

Woodson has already been arrested and released on bond. A warrant was issued for Beer’s arrest on Jan. 13, 2026.