A Tennessee couple started the week off to a rough start when they woke up to their pit bull jumping on a gun and pulling the trigger, shooting his owner.
Memphis Police responded to the couple’s home on Whitney Ave. just before 4 am on Monday to find empty shell casings on the front room floor.
‘While relaxing/ talking the victims dog jumped on the bed and got his paw stuck in the trigger guard and ended up hitting the trigger,’ Officer Shaquille Phipps told Dailymail.com.
The couple had been lying in bed with a gun, but instead of the weapon protecting them, it caused them pain and got them some unwanted attention.
After the gun went off, the couple flew into a panic and called for help. When police arrived, the victim said that his girlfriend had left with the gun, according to Officer Phipps.
Emergency services arrived and cleaned his wound before he was transported to a nearby medical facility.
Luckily, the man’s injury was non-critical and the bullet only grazed his upper thigh.
The couple refused to share their identities, but the man’s girlfriend spoke with local Fox affiliate, WHBQ-TV News, about the bizarre incident.
Memphis Police responded to the emergency call at a home in Frayser just before 4 am
Pit bulls are occasionally considered to be mischievous breeds, as one dog in Memphis accidentally fired a weapon at his unsuspecting owner (file photo)
‘The dog is a playful dog, and he likes to jump around and stuff like that, and it just went off,’ she explained from the front seat of her car.
She told the outlet that she was asleep when the pit bull jumped on the bed, startling her when the gunshots woke her up.
She laughed when recalling the jarring moment she heard gunshots and awoke to the pit bull accidentally firing at her boyfriend.
The victim’s dog, Oreo, left the incident unscathed and the couple said they could laugh about it since no one was seriously injured.
Although the chain of events Oreo set off seems like one-in-a-million odds, it’s not uncommon for gun owners to improperly store their firearms.
The incident occurred on Whitney Avenue, which is located in northern Memphis
The man’s girlfriend agreed to speak with local news but concealed her identity by sitting for the interview in her car
According to research conducted by Everytown for Gun Safety, over half of gun owners do not properly secure their weapons.
Even though it can be tempting to have a gun by your bedside in case of an emergency, it only creates a more dangerous environment.
The Center for Gun Violence Solutions recommends storing and locking ammunition separately from firearms and keeping guns unloaded when not in use.
The man’s girlfriend told WHBQ that they learned their lesson the hard way and will now always leave the safety on their guns.
‘Keep the safety on or use a trigger lock,’ she added.
This article was originally published by a www.dailymail.co.uk . Read the Original article here. .