Memphis, TN – A Memphis man found himself in the hospital this week after an unusual and startling event: his own dog accidentally shot him. The incident, which occurred in the early hours of Monday, March 10, has left local authorities and residents baffled, while sparking renewed conversations about gun safety in the home.
Jerald Kirkwood, a resident of Memphis, was relaxing in bed with a female companion around 4 a.m. when the unexpected happened.
According to the Memphis Police Department, Kirkwood’s one-year-old pit bull, Oreo, jumped onto the bed where a loaded firearm was present. In a freak accident, Oreo’s paw became entangled in the trigger guard, discharging the weapon. The bullet grazed Kirkwood’s upper left thigh, sending him to the hospital in non-critical condition.
“I was just lying there talking, and Oreo jumped up like he always does,” Kirkwood reportedly told police. “Next thing I know, the gun goes off.”
His companion, who has not been named, quickly left the scene with the firearm, leaving behind a single spent shell casing found by officers on the front room floor.
The woman later spoke to local station Fox 13, describing Oreo as “a playful dog” who “likes to jump around.”
She admitted the gunshot woke her—a combination of the loud bang and Oreo’s antics. “It just went off,” she said, laughing nervously as she recounted the chaos. She added that moving forward, they’d ensure any guns in the home have their safeties engaged or trigger locks in place.
Police classified the incident as an accidental injury, and no charges are expected against Kirkwood or Oreo. First responders treated Kirkwood’s wound on-site before transporting him to a nearby hospital, where he is expected to make a full recovery.
This isn’t the first time a pet has unintentionally fired a weapon in the U.S. In 2018, an Iowa man was shot in the leg by his pit bull-Labrador mix while roughhousing, and in 2019, a former LSU football player lost a leg after his Labrador triggered a shotgun during a hunting trip.