UPDATE: Barnegat Man Killed In Hunting Accident In Bayville Identified: Prosecutor's Office

The Ocean County Prosecutor's Office has released the name of a Barnegat man who was killed Saturday morning in the Bayville woods after he was shot by a hunting companion, a spokesman for the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office said.

Berkeley police received a 9-1-1 call at 8:46 a.m. Saturday morning informing police that Richard Pereira, a 26-year-old man had been shot while hunting, spokesman Al Della Fave said.

Police and MONOC Unit 712 responded to a wooded area near Locker Street, where they found Pereira. He was pronounced dead by telemetry at 9:08 a.m. by Dr. Juarez from Newark Beth Israel Hospital, Della Fave said.

His body was taken to Community Medical Center in Toms River and the scene was immediately secured and processed by Detective Matthew Scutti and Detective Laudicina of the Ocean County Sheriff's Department, he said.

Ocean County Major Crimes Unit Detective. John Carroll and John Murphy, along with Berkeley Township Police Detective Joseph Santoro, were assigned to lead the investigation.

The preliminary investigation found the victim, his father and two friends were out hunting deer. One of the victim's friends, a 41-year-old man from Forked River, discharged his shotgun while hunting and struck the Pereira, killing him. The man's father tried to render first aid while 911 was called, Della Fave said.

The investigation is continuing, he said.