Charges filed in Pa. Halloween costume shooting

ROCHESTER, Pa. Charges have been filed against a Pennsylvania man who shot what he thought was a skunk but was really his 8-year-old cousin in a black-and-white Halloween costume.

Twenty-four-year-old Thomas Edward Grant of Jackson Center, Mercer County, was charged Thursday with aggravated assault, reckless endangerment and simple assault.

The girl was hit in the shoulder, arm, back and neck. She remained in critical condition from the shooting in rural Rochester, about 30 miles northwest of Pittsburgh.

Pa. girl in costume mistaken for skunk, shot

Police say the girl was playing hide-and-seek behind the Grant family's home Saturday night when she was shot once with a 12-gauge shotgun. She was wearing a black body costume and a black hat with a white feather.

Grant has a preliminary hearing Nov. 1. It wasn't clear whether he had an attorney.