Sheriff identifies man killed after dog steps on loaded gun

SUMNER COUNTY, Kan. (KWCH) - The Sumner County Sheriff’s Office on Tuesday identified a man shot and killed in a hunting-related accident as 30-year-old Joseph Austin Smith. The preliminary investigation indicates the deadly shooting was caused by a dog stepping on a gun, according to the sheriff’s office.

A little before 10 a.m. on Saturday, the sheriff’s office said deputies responded to the area of 80th Street South and River Road in response to a man who was shot in the back. The sheriff’s office said the man was sitting in the front passenger seat of the pickup when a dog stepped on the rifle in the back seat, causing the weapon to discharge. The fired round struck the man.

“Responding units arrived within minutes of the 911 call and started CPR,” the sheriff’s office said.

The sheriff’s office said the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks and Wellington Fire and EMS also responded to the scene. The injured man died at the scene.