An American dog owner was injured after his pet accidentally discharged a loaded gun in Memphis, Tennessee, police reported on Wednesday.
The man, who was asleep in bed next to his partner, was grazed on the left thigh when the gun went off early Monday morning. He was treated at a hospital for the minor injury.
According to the police report, the dog, a one-year-old pit bull named Oreo, jumped on the bed and got its paw stuck in the gun’s trigger guard, causing it to fire. The report did not specify the type of weapon involved, and the incident was classified as an “accidental injury.”
While gun violence is common in the United States, incidents of animals inadvertently shooting humans are rare.
In a similar case two years ago, a German shepherd fatally shot a 30-year-old man in Kansas after stepping on a hunting rifle. In 2018, a pit bull-Labrador mix in Iowa shot a man in the leg.
The victim’s girlfriend, speaking to local news station Fox 13 Memphis, described Oreo as a playful dog who “likes to jump around.” She said, “It just went off.”
Her takeaway from the experience: “Keep the safety on or use a trigger lock.”
