MOUNT VERNON, Wash. - A teenage boy who said he thought he was shooting a bear when he fired a round that killed a hiker was sentenced Friday to 30 days in juvenile detention and 120 hours of community service.

The boy, who was 14 at the time of the shooting last August, was convicted of second-degree manslaughter last month in Skagit County Superior Court.

Judge Susan Cook earlier ruled that the teen's actions were a "gross deviation" from what a reasonable 14-year-old hunter would do.

She determined that the boy and his older brother, who was with him at the time, could not have clearly seen the target when the younger boy shot and killed 54-year-old Pamela Almli in foggy conditions on Sauk Mountain last August.

At Friday's sentencing, the boy apologized to the family of the victim and said he hoped they could forgive him.

The boy's attorney also read from a letter that the boy wrote to the victim's family after the shooting but never was allowed to send because of a no-contact order.

In the letter, the boy called the shooting a "horrible mistake" and added, "I'll never feel the same as before it happened."

Gail Blacker, the victim's sister, also spoke. She told the teen hunter that "in one second you destroyed everything."

"Think of the empty space you left us," she said. "Put yourself in our shoes - if that was your brother that died that day - how difficult that would be."

The boy's attorney argued that he should serve no time because the incident had scarred him and that he needed counseling.

The judge said the maximum sentence she could impose would be five months in detention, but she settled on 30 days. She said his 120 hours of community service must include four hours of hunting safety education. He also will undergo counseling.

The judge also sentenced the boy to a year of community supervision, saying he needed to show accountability and rehabilitation.

Almli was shot in the head as she bent over to put a jacket into a backpack when the boy fired a .270-caliber rifle from about 120 yards away.

Prosecutors said the teen failed to follow guidelines in the state's hunting safety manual, including being sure of a target and what lies beyond it.

The boy's defense attorney argued that the teens thought they saw a bear through the fog rolling in and out.

The teen hunter and his older brother said at Friday's hearing that they are planning to build and maintain a memorial to Almli at the place where she was shot on Sauk Mountain.