Dog causes rifle to discharge, shoot Fannett teen

A 15-year-old Fannet boy is in stable condition after a dog knocked over a .22 caliber rifle causing it to discharge, striking the teen in the stomach Tuesday. A 15-year-old Fannet boy is in stable condition after a dog knocked over a .22 caliber rifle causing it to discharge, striking the teen in the stomach Tuesday. Photo: Chris Moore / Chris Moore/The Enterprise Photo: Chris Moore / Chris Moore/The Enterprise Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Dog causes rifle to discharge, shoot Fannett teen 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

A neighborhood dog caused a rifle to discharge and injure a teen in Fannett on Tuesday afternoon.

The 15-year-old boy was riding an all-terrain vehicle on his family’s property in the 19000 block of Burrell-Windgate Road just before 4 p.m.., Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office Capt. Crystal Holmes said.

“(The boy) was out with his dog and his .22-caliber rifle,” she said. “He was out fishing and working his dog. Another dog came and jumped up on the Mule and knocked the gun off the vehicle, and it shot him.”

Holmes said the boy, whose name was not released, is in stable condition at a local hospital with a single gunshot wound to the stomach.

“He was able to get on his cell phone and call his uncle, who came rushing over,” she said. “They called 911 and EMS got out here quick. It’s not anything life threatening. It was just a country boy doing what they do.”

The home sits about 100 yards off the road and on several acres of land. In the small community where most people know each other, several people stopped by the residence when they saw three sheriff’s office vehicles on the property Tuesday.

Police were seen talking to family members on the property and vehicles came and went over the span of about an hour.

Holmes said the incident occurred near a pond on the property. The home is fairly isolated with no homes on either side for about a quarter of a mile in each direction.

chris.moore@beaumontenterprise.com

twitter.com/chris_moore09