'My dog shot me': Pennsylvania man claims his dog caused his shotgun to go off

A man in Pennsylvania says he was shot by his dog after he put the gun down following a cleaning. The freak accident landed him in the hospital for surgery. The unnamed man from Shillington says that he has put down his shotgun on the bed after a cleaning. Just as he sat down, his dog pounced on him, apparently setting off the gun. The man was struck by a bullet in his lower back. Shillington Police Cpl. Michael Schoone told WFMZ that it’s not exactly clear what happened and how the dog was involved. The 53-year-old blames his dog for the accident, having told the police that he “jumped up onto the bed, causing the shotgun to go off, which ultimately struck him." The unusual case has led the police to use it as a warning case about the importance of safely handling firearms.

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Police warn people about safe gun handling

“He’s not sure what stage of cleaning he was in at the time, so it’s unclear if the dog’s paw may have gotten caught inside the trigger and the safety was off or if there was some sort of manufacturer's malfunction,” he said. The victim’s son was home at the time and called 911. He was taken to the hospital, where he had surgery. Schoone is now asking people to be more alert around their firearms. “Obviously, you should be treating every weapon as if it’s loaded. All the cardinal rules: keeping it in a safe direction, finger off the trigger. This was… the perfect storm. It was just the right place at the right time – or the wrong time,” Schoone said. An investigation into the incident is still on, although officials are almost certain that it was an accident.