In an unusual scene – especially since dogs are notoriously loyal – US police announced that a dog shot and killed a man over the weekend, after the animal accidentally stepped on the trigger of a gun in the back seat of a pickup truck.
The victim, who was sitting in the front passenger seat of the truck, was shot in the back while he and the pet were on a hunting trip Saturday, according to police in the central US state of Kansas.
The Sumner County Sheriff’s Office said the dog stepped on the truck owner’s gun, causing the gunfire. The bullet hit the passenger, who succumbed to his injuries at the scene.
The sheriff’s office added in a separate statement that an investigation is underway, but an initial investigation shows it to be a hunting-related incident and nothing more.
passive weapon
Officials did not say whether the 30-year-old man who died was the owner of the dog.
While accidental shootings are tragically common in the United States due to runaway weapons among citizens.
More than 500 people died in firearm accidents in 2021, according to data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.