A Roanoke Rapids man is being treated at Pitt Memorial Hospital in Greenville after being shot in the head while his brother was trying to kill a deer Wednesday evening.

Roger Warren, 31, the victim, and his brother Eric, 28, were sitting in a car under a shelter at a farm off Highway 301 near Halifax shortly after 5 p.m., according to Sergeant Carl Hatcher, of the state Wildlife Resources Commission.

When Eric spotted a deer he retrieved a gun from the car and used the rear of the roof to brace the shot.

Wildlife Officer Patrick Brown said while the scope of the rifle showed a clear shot of the deer, the muzzle was still pointed to the roof. When Eric, of Swansboro, fired, the bullet traveled through the roof, causing it to fragment and his brother was hit in the head, not only from roof fragments but bullet fragments, according to Hatcher.

The men left the farm to take Roger to the hospital when they saw a trooper at a stoplight and asked for assistance, Hatcher said.

Roger was taken to Pitt where he was listed in serious condition, Hatcher said. Brown said Roger is expected to survive the shot.

Brown said Eric will be charged with negligent hunting with a firearm and hunting with an expired license.

The fine for negligent hunting carries a high fine and five year hunting license revocation.

This was the first mishap during the hunting season, which ends January 1, the officers said.