Social media is wagging over an accidental shooting of a dog near Coral Cove Park in Tequesta this past weekend.
There were no criminal charges in the incident, which took place at about 11 am. on Sunday, Aug. 23, a Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office spokesperson said.
The shooting happened as two friends went paddle boarding in the Intracoastal Waterway. One reached into his bag for sunscreen. He accidentally discharged his gun while putting the sunscreen back. The bullet hit his friend's dog in the mouth. The dog was taken to a veterinarian and is doing "very well," the spokesperson said.
The Sheriff's Office said it found no criminal activity.
The spokesperson
did not identify the dog's breed or specify where the dog was when the shooting happened.
Facebook users, however, had plenty to say. There are 100 comments on a post about the incident. Some said they understood that the paddleboarders were roommates and that the dog looked like a 40-pound puppy with copper-brown fur.
"We had just seen this man throwing a football with a friend and the dog was running between them chasing the ball," one anonymous user wrote on Facebook. "The shot rang out and the quiet morning was immediately pierced by his screams. I could hear him screaming that he shot his dog. I will never forget those screams."
Another anonymous user on Facebook said they called law enforcement after witnessing the shooting.
"The roommates had immediately taken the dog to the vet while the one whose gun it was stayed there screaming," the user wrote. "There was another guy nearby that disarmed his gun. The word I heard after talking to the police and standing nearby as by that point he had gotten word from his roommate, was that the dog was going to be alright and just got grazed on the nose. The whole situation was scary and I do feel for everyone and everything involved."
Are guns allowed at Palm Beach County park beaches?
Gun possession is allowed at Palm Beach County parks, consistent with Florida state statute and federal law. But discharging a weapon into or in a park is not permitted under county park ordinance, said Jennifer Cirillo, director of the county's parks and recreation department.
Dogs are generally not allowed on county park beaches, except at Jupiter Dog Beach. They are allowed at county parks as long as they are on a 6-foot leash or in a dog park, Cirillo said.
Maya Washburn is a Trending News Reporter for The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Florida-Network. Reach her at mwashburn@pbpost.com. Support local journalism: Subscribe today.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Dog gets shot by paddleboarder near beach in Jupiter | Exclusive
