Lightning strike at private archery range, Cub Scouts injured. (NJ)

[RememberSchiff]

7/17/2025

"One person was killed and several others were rushed to the hospital after a lightning strike at the Black Knight Bowbenders outdoor archery range in Jackson Township, New Jersey on Wednesday, according to officials.

Mayor Michael Reina confirmed the strike hit the ground near Jackson Cub Scout Pack 204.

Robert Montgomery, 61, was a member of the Black Knight Bowbenders outdoor archery range and was volunteering at the time he was killed. Six other people, include several juveniles, were rushed to nearby hospitals, including Jersey Shore University Medical Center. Everyone was alert and conscious when they were taken to the hospital, but one person with more serious injuries was taken to the was taken to the Livingston Burn Center.

The children were as young as 7 years old.

Reina said CPR was successfully administered to at least one victim, who survived."

 

More at sources:

https://abc7ny.com/post/jackson-township-lightning-strike-leaves-1-dead-6-injured-archery-range-nj/17154234/

https://nj1015.com/jackson-nj-lightning-strike-2/

https://people.com/1-dead-13-injured-after-being-struck-by-lightning-at-new-jersey-archery-range-11773986

Edited Thursday at 10:09 AM by RememberSchiff

[Tron]

What was the cub scout pack doing there? I thought the new range and target activities policies that went live last year only permitted cubs to do range activities at district and council events? 

[Eagle94-A1]

6 hours ago, Tron said:

What was the cub scout pack doing there? I thought the new range and target activities policies that went live last year only permitted cubs to do range activities at district and council events? 

Actually that has been the rule, Cubs can only do shooting sports at district/council events, since I was a Cub in the 1980s.

[InquisitiveScouter]

19 hours ago, Tron said:

What was the cub scout pack doing there? I thought the new range and target activities policies that went live last year only permitted cubs to do range activities at district and council events? 

https://filestore.scouting.org/filestore/pdf/430-938-24-Range-and-Target-Activities-Manual_8.30.pdf

See page 12.  Only program levels above Cub Scouts can conduct archery events outside of a "Scouting America Accredited Camp".

Need more details other than provided in the story, though...

[RememberSchiff]

"Eleven boys and two girls from Jackson Cub Scout Pack 204 were learning to fire arrows at Black Knight Bowbenders when a bolt of lightning struck a tree near the shooting range at 7:13 p.m., according to the Jackson Police Department."

"Ten-year-old Cub Scout Ryan Coopey had his socks and shoes knocked off by the lightning strike Wednesday, leaving him with second-degree burns on his heels."

"Mr. Montgomery (who died) was one of several volunteer instructors helping the scouts Wednesday night, according to Bob Helle, a longtime member of the Bowbenders and the group’s former president."

Sources:

https://nypost.com/2025/07/17/us-news/10-year-old-cub-scout-knocked-out-of-shoes-by-deadly-nj-lightning-strike/

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/17/nyregion/lightning-strike-jackson-nj-archery.html

Edited 18 hours ago by RememberSchiff

[InquisitiveScouter]

1 hour ago, RememberSchiff said:

"Eleven boys and two girls from Jackson Cub Scout Pack 204 were learning to fire arrows at Black Knight Bowbenders when a bolt of lightning struck a tree near the shooting range at 7:13 p.m., according to the Jackson Police Department."

"Ten-year-old Cub Scout Ryan Coopey had his socks and shoes knocked off by the lightning strike Wednesday, leaving him with second-degree burns on his heels."

"Mr. Montgomery (who died) was one of several volunteer instructors helping the scouts Wednesday night, according to Bob Helle, a longtime member of the Bowbenders and the group’s former president."

Sources:

https://nypost.com/2025/07/17/us-news/10-year-old-cub-scout-knocked-out-of-shoes-by-deadly-nj-lightning-strike/

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/17/nyregion/lightning-strike-jackson-nj-archery.html

No BSA Accident Insurance coverage for them, I wonder??

[RememberSchiff]

Related. Some YMCA camps have lightning warning systems, a few for more than a decade.

2023:

"Sometimes camp’s bright sunshine turns cloudy with a summer storm. “Thor Guard” is camp's weather protection system; if lightning is approaching camp, an alarm will sound and alert camp that it is unsafe to be in the water. The system allows for a 20 minute "safe" buffer to let campers get out of the water to a safe area. 

 https://www.campgreenville.org/mountainviewnews/watersafety23

2008:

"After a 2005 lightning-safety incident at YMCA Camp Tockwogh, CRS completed a safety and risk evaluation and recommended installation of a Strike Guard early warning lightning detection system, manufactured by Wxline.  “The Strike Guard system ensures guest safety by using technology to automatically detect and monitor lightning strikes up to twenty miles away, determining alarm and all-clear conditions, and eliminating difficult decisions about what is or is not considered safe for onsite lifeguards, staff and volunteers,” said Wills."

https://crs4rec.com/ymca-camps-address-lightning-safety-early-warning-detection-system/

Edited 1 hour ago by RememberSchiff
lightning not lighting

[RememberSchiff]

Outdoor Warning System vs Lightning Detection System, a 2018 video from the Office of Emergency Management of Irving, TX.