A mother allegedly tried to shoot her neighbor’s puppy but missed and struck her five-year-old son. Angelia Mia Vargas, 24, fired multiple times at the dog that was running loose in her neighborhood in north Houston over the weekend.
Using a small caliber pistol, Vargas fired three shots at the puppy around 2.15pm near 700 Dunham Road on Saturday, Detective J Hasley with the Houston Police Department’s Major Assaults and Family Violence Division said. She reportedly fired the shots across a public roadway toward two houses with people inside.
However, one of the bullets ricocheted and hit her son in his abdomen. He was transported to a local hospital and was in stable condition, police said. The five-year-old’s injury was not expected to be life-threatening.
Vargas was arrested and charged with deadly conduct and discharge of a firearm.
Neighbors told KTRK that Vargas, her son and another family member were riding their bicycles down the street when the 6-month-old boxer named Bruno ran out into the street.
Bruno’s owner told the TV station that the dog got loose when he opened the door because he thought his brother had arrived at his house.
‘I came out of my house because Bruno was barking and barking. I thought my brother was coming,’ said the owner. ‘So, I open the door just a little bit and he comes running out.’
Bruno suffered graze wounds on its hind legs but no serious wounds, its owner told KPRC.
On Tuesday, the owner, who did not want to be identified, said the puppy was back on its paws and running around, according to Click2Houston.com.
The owner received a citation for a dog running loose.
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