As a neighbor went after his puppy who got out of the house, a Mom in Texas began to shoot at the dog. Unfortunately, a bullet ricocheted and hit her son instead.
The mother, 24-year-old Angelia Mia Vargas, was outside while her five-year-old son and husband were riding bicycles in their neighborhood in Houston, Texas.
In an interview with local ABC affiliates, the dog owner spoke about what he saw:
"I came out of my house because Bruno was barking and barking. I thought my brother was coming."
"I thought my brother was coming, so I open the door just a little bit and he comes running out."
You can see news coverage here, including security camera footage of the incident.
Mom accidentally shoots her 5-year-old son while trying to target loose dog| ABC7youtu.be
You can see in the video from the Ring doorbell footage from ABC7 that the dog, Bruno, a 6-month-old boxer puppy, runs out behind the cars towards the street. In the top right corner of the screen you can see two people standing in the driveway across the street and several gun shots are heard followed by screams.
The dog owner immediately went back inside, still calling after his puppy. The Boxer puppy received only minor graze wounds on two legs.
But the five-year-old son of Vargas was hit in the abdomen by one of her stray bullets. No life-threatening injuries were reported, but the child was kept in the hospital.
You can see additional information about the charges filed from local news NBC2 here:
According to Detective J. Hasley with the HPD Major Assaults and Family Violence Division, the bullets came from a small caliber pistol shot by Mia Vargas in an attempt to hit the dog.
The most recent gun laws in Texas allows citizens to carry a gun without a permit.
As the news reached Twitter, many are unhappy with the gun laws in Texas and outraged Bruno's owner was given a Class C misdemeanor citation for not having the dog on a leash.
@shannonrwatts Thank goodness that mother decided to arm herself to go on a bike ride with her 5 year old kid. Can… https://t.co/OgOPJ73Z6q— WellRegulatedMilitia (@WellRegulatedMilitia) 1622601937.0
@shannonrwatts I cannot with this story. The dog got out for a split second followed closely by its owner. The woma… https://t.co/Wbr5SkmFco— Fiery Progressive (@Fiery Progressive) 1622609474.0
@AlexisCeule/Twitter
@TheRealDoggur @DrDinD @shannonrwatts The article says she was a "responsible gun owner" but she had a loaded gun,… https://t.co/jM1QycVZyw— Emberella 🏳️🌈 (@Emberella 🏳️🌈) 1622612210.0
@shannonrwatts This is so very disturbing. Why was she armed?— Amy Bucher-Long (@Amy Bucher-Long) 1622598877.0
@shannonrwatts What kind of person just randomly shoots at a dog? I just don't understand the gun-worshippers. So m… https://t.co/07Lq2RflMP— FirstAlto (@FirstAlto) 1622600357.0
@shannonrwatts This is what my husband received the other day. The envelope and the first part of the letter the N… https://t.co/55vNa1mdJJ— katgal (@katgal) 1622652822.0
@shannonrwatts Texas: where you need a license to fish but not to own a gun Can CPS investigate this unsafe home??— Sandy Kay, 100% Vaxxed (@Sandy Kay, 100% Vaxxed) 1622599181.0
@shannonrwatts The six-month-old puppy squeezed out a screen door when the owner opened it a crack to look outside.… https://t.co/uSXsmfHAPz— Rick G. Rosner (@Rick G. Rosner) 1622610181.0
@shannonrwatts The dog owner received a Class C misdemeanor? I mean—that almost seems to be a way to show that he h… https://t.co/iZfOENUhxI— KnopeFanLing @🏡 (@KnopeFanLing @🏡) 1622639299.0
Bruno's owner continued in his interview:
"She could have handled it differently."
You know, she was there, her husband was there, I was there, nothing would have happened. Nothing bad like that."
Mia Vargas was charged with deadly conduct with a firearm.