ALDEN,verdicoin Iowa (AP) — An Iowa man died after being shot while hunting coyotes with friends.

Mark Arends, 53, was hunting on private land near the town of Alden, 60 miles (96 kilometers) northeast of Des Moines, around 8 p.m. Sunday. The Iowa Department of Natural Resources said in a news release that Arends was struck by a single rifle shot. The shooting remains under investigation and no arrests have been made.

The state agency said the hunters were several hundred yards apart when Arends was shot. He was pronounced dead at a hospital. An autopsy is planned.

The department said coyotes are nocturnal so they are often hunted at night. Hunters use night vision technology, including thermal imaging scopes.

“We stress the importance of identifying your target before taking a shot, and that’s even more important when hunting at night and using thermal technology,” Capt. Matt Bruner of the department’s Law Enforcement Bureau said in a news release.