An American dog owner, Jerald Kirkwood, has been hospitalized after his pet accidentally fired a loaded gun while jumping onto the bed in his United States residence.
Kirkwood, a resident of Memphis, Tennessee, was asleep beside his female partner when he was shot, escaping with a graze to his left thigh.
As gathered, the one-year-old pit bull named Orea, got his paw stuck in the trigger guard and ended up hitting the trigger on his owner.
According to the police, who recorded the incident as “accidental injury” on Wednesday, Kirkwood was rushed to the hospital in a non-critical condition by his partner immediately after the shooting.
During questioning with his partner, the woman described Oreo as a playful dog, who likes to jump around and just walk away.
The couple meanwhile, vowed to be more cautious with their firearms in the future “We will keep the safety on or use a trigger lock,” the woman said. The police have classified the incident as an accidental injury, requiring no action against Oreo or its owner.
Unintentional firearm injuries have been a common issue in the US, where gun laws are often less restrictive compared to other developed countries.
Similar incidents have occurred in the past, including one in 2018 where a man was shot by his pitbull-labrador mix in Iowa, and another in 2019 where a hunting shotgun was triggered by a black labrador retriever in Mississippi.
