Dog shoots man in bed

A man in Memphis, Tennessee, was shot by his dog after the pet accidentally set off a loaded firearm while jumping on the bed, police said Wednesday, March 12.

The man, who was sleeping alongside his female partner, sustained a graze wound to his left thigh in the early Monday morning incident and was treated at a hospital.

According to the police incident report, the one-year-old pit bull, named Oreo, “got his paw stuck in the trigger guard and ended up hitting the trigger.” The type of weapon involved was not specified, but authorities classified the shooting as an “accidental injury.”

While gun violence is widespread in the United States, cases of animals discharging firearms remain rare. In 2022, a German shepherd in Kansas fatally shot a 30-year-old man after stepping on a hunting rifle. Similarly, in 2018, a pit bull-Labrador mix in Iowa shot its owner in the leg.

Local news station Fox 13 Memphis quoted the Tennessee victim’s girlfriend, who was not identified, as saying she was asleep when the gun discharged. “The dog is a playful dog, and he likes to jump around and stuff like that, and it just went off,” she reportedly said.

Reflecting on the incident, she emphasized the importance of firearm safety: “Keep the safety on or use a trigger lock.”