Members and leaders of a Massachusetts church said they want local officials to ban hunting on a beach after a goose was shot near a church picnic.

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The Rev. Timothy Schenck, rector of St. John the Evangelist Church in Hingham, said he and members of his church want town beach trustees to ban hunting on Hingham Bathing Beach after an incident during a Saturday church picnic on the shore, The (Quincy) Patriot Ledger reported Thursday.

"All of a sudden, a few of us noticed just three geese flying by and right then, bam, bam, bam. One of the geese falls in the water," Schenck said.

"The kids were naturally freaked out," he said. "You don't go to church expecting to see a shooting gallery."

Beach trustee and board chairman Thomas Foley said he is backing a town bylaw to ban hunting on the beach but he is not sure if state laws allow for such a rule.

"I'd rather see hunting limited to other areas," Foley said.