A mother, who tried to shoot down a loose dog, is currently facing charges for striking her own son with a bullet on Saturday, May 29. In the events that led to the unusual incident, a man living on 700 Dunham Road in Texas suddenly noticed his 6-month-old boxer puppy barking. The unidentified pet parent then went on to open his front door, thinking his brother might have arrived. But the puppy named Bruno immediately made a dash for it and ran outside the house.
“I came out of my house because Bruno was barking and barking. I thought my brother was coming,” the man said. “So, I open the door just a little bit and he comes running out.” At the same time, 24-year-old Angelia Vargas and her son were out riding their bikes on the street when they saw Bruno running around loose.
In the doorbell cam footage, Bruno’s owner could be seen trying to get the dog back inside the house. But within a matter of seconds, the owner heard gunshots, after which came a long scream. Angelia had shot her 5-year-old son while she was trying to aim at Bruno. Both the mother and the boy’s father screamed after one of three bullets, shot by Angelina, hit their son. “Investigators learned the child’s mother, suspect Vargas, had fired a small-caliber pistol three times at a dog running loose across the street,” said the police statement.
One of the shots fired grazed Bruno’s leg, but the young pupper is doing well after the incident. On the other hand, the boy was reportedly hit in his abdomen but is currently stable after being treated for non-life-threatening injuries. When officers arrived at the scene, “they learned the boy had been struck in the abdomen by a ricocheting bullet,” according to information released by the Houston Police Department.
“After consultation with the Harris County District Attorney’s Office, Vargas was arrested and charged in this incident, as she had fired across a public roadway and in the direction of two occupied houses,” the police department added.
Following the incident, Bruno’s owner is still shaken over the turn of events. “She could have handled it differently,” he said. “You know, she was there, her husband was there, I was there, nothing would have happened. Nothing bad like that.” Since the day the little boy was shot just a few feet away from him, the pet owner revealed he has had nightmares and said, “I was asleep and I had a dream hearing the little boy crying, and that’s what woke me up when I was sleeping yesterday.”
In connection with the incident, Angelia was charged with one count of deadly conduct with a discharge of a firearm, whereas Bruno’s owner was given a Class C misdemeanor citation for having a loose dog.