9-year-old girl accidentally shot

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NEW SEWICKLEY TOWNSHIP, Pa., Oct. 21 (UPI) -- A 9-year-old girl was accidentally shot in her shoulder by a family member who thought she was an animal outside their Pennsylvania home.

The shooting happened outside of a Halloween party at a New Sewickley Township home Saturday night, the Beaver County (Pa.) Times reported.

New Sewickley Police Chief Ronald Leindecker said an unidentified male relative mistook the girl, who was wearing a black costume and a black hat with white tassel, for a skunk and shot her in the shoulder with a shotgun.

The girl, whose name was not released, was flown to UPMC Children's Hospital in Pittsburgh, Leindecker said.

A report on her condition was not available.

Leindecker said he was unsure whether charges will be filed, adding that the man had not been drinking.