A Columbus, Ohio police officer who was trying to gun down a charging dog shot a 4-year-old girl instead. She is in stable condition. Photo by Brian A Jackson/Shutterstock

COLUMBUS, Ohio, June 20 (UPI) -- A police officer who was trying to gun down a charging dog shot a four-year-old girl instead.

The girl, identified by family and friends as Ava Ellis, was taken to Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, where she is in stable condition.


Police said the officer, who was not identified, was investigating a hit-and-run report about 3 p.m. Friday when a woman nearby began yelling for help. When the officer approached the house, the dog charged at the officer, Columbus police spokeswoman Denise Alex-Bouzounis said.

"I did hear the gunshot -- it was very loud," neighbor Gary Parsley told WBNS.. "At first I thought maybe he'd shot the dog, because she was saying something about 'Why would you try to shoot the dog?' and he said something like the dog was attacking him, or something like that. Then, she started saying 'You shot my kid!'."

Alex-Bouzounis said the officer fired one shot, missed the dog and accidentally shot the child in the leg. The officer was being questioned in the incident.