Officer Who Feared Family Dog Shoots Four-Year-Old
In Whitehall, Ohio, a young woman was seeking aid from a local police officer on Friday. Unfortunately for her, the police officer, who was afraid of the family dog and was attempting to shoot it, ended up shooting the woman’s four-year-old niece instead. The young girl was hit in the leg by the bullet.
The police were called to Gary Parsley’s home to follow up on leads for a hit-and-run case from nearly two weeks prior. A woman in a nearby home came running out of her house, pleading for help from the police officer. Parsley, speaking with WTSP, said: “She was wanting medical attention for her sister, that’s why she called the guy over there.”
When he went back inside his house, he heard a very unexpected gunshot. Parsley added “I did hear the gunshot – it was very loud. 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!”
Columbus PD claims the officer approached the home to help the woman when the family’s dog charged at him. He drew his weapon and opened fire, missing the animal, though. CPS spokeswoman Denise Alex-Bouzounis said: “The officer fires one shot at the dog, misses the dog and accidentally shoots a four-year-old in the leg.”
The four-year-old girl was rushed to a local children’s hospital where she is said to be making a full recovery. CPD intends to question the officer over what happened at the scene, too.
