A woman walking her dogs near her home in upstate New York was fatally shot by a man who told police he mistook her for a deer.

Rosemary Billquist, 43, was hit by a bullet from a single-shot pistol fired by her neighbor Thomas B. Jadlowski who told investigators he was 200 yards from the victim when he fired. When Jadlowski realized his horrible mistake, he called 911 and the victim was taken from the town of Sherman to a hospital in Pennsylvania where she was pronounced dead.

Jadlowski was emotional after the shooting, the sergeant said.

“I think he was in shock and disbelief. He was definitely having a hard time.“

The woman’s husband told CNN that,

“she was an amazing person that would do anything for anyone.“

Jamie Billquist said his wife of 27 years loved her two labs, Stella and Sugar. She worked at a hospital in Jamestown New York for 25 years and volunteered at hospices and homes for the elderly.

On Facebook, he wrote,

“I will miss you and love you forever and I know you’re dancing in heaven with your momma and all of our friends and family that we have lost.“

The police investigating said it was his understanding that Billquist was most likely on her neighbor’s property when she was shot, after sundown. New York laws prohibit the hunting of deer after sunset, Ostrander said.

Sheriff Joe Gerace told CNN,

“It’s the responsibility of the hunter, you have to know when sunset is… and plan your day so you can get out of woods before that time.“

The criminal investigation into the shooting is ongoing, Ostrander said. The state Department of Environmental Conservation is involved because the shooting is hunting related.

Sherman is a rural town of about 1,600 people and is 60 miles southwest of Buffalo.

Jadlowski, who has cooperated with authorities and has not been charged with a crime.

(Photo, Facebook; via CNN)