Texas man shoots at armadillo, wounded by ricochet

Michael Winter | USA TODAY

A lonely East Texas highway at 3 a.m., a man with a gun, an armadillo.

What could go wrong?

Only a head wound -- to the gunman, KLTV reports.

The Cass County Sheriff said the motorist told deputies he was shooting at the armored little mammal in the wee hours Thursday on state Highway 77, near Marietta, south of Texarkana. A bullet ricocheted off the creature, striking him in the head.

The unidentified marksman was treated at a local hospital for a minor wound. No word on the fate of the armadillo or the type of gun used.

Deputies are investigating the incident as "a possible accidental shooting."

Second time in three months that an armadillo has gotten some payback on a target-shooting human.

A Georgia man wounded his 74-year-old mother-in-law in April after his 9mm bullet careened off an armadillo, hit a fence, went through the back door of mom's mobile home and penetrated the recliner she was sitting in. The bullet struck her in the back.

She suffered non-life-threatening injuries, the armadillo went to heaven. No word if the man's headed to divorce court.