Man says dog tripped him, causing him to shoot his wife

[The Straight Story]

Man says dog tripped him, causing him to shoot his wife

SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — A 25-year-old San Miguel man accused of involuntary manslaughter in the shooting death of his wife told a sheriff's investigator his dog ran underneath his feet, tripping him and causing the handgun to mistakenly fire at her.

John Aaron Norris was in Superior Court on Tuesday for the start of his preliminary hearing — which is scheduled to resume Friday at 10:30 a.m. in Judge Michael Duffy's courtroom.

Norris has pleaded not guilty to the manslaughter charge and to allegedly possessing an illegal weapon at his home — a semiautomatic rifle found by investigators.

Norris told sheriff's officials he shot 24-year-old Tasha Dawn Norris on the morning of July 9 at their home in San Miguel on the 500 block of 11th Street.

During questioning from Deputy District Attorney Matt Kerrigan, sheriff's Deputy Matthew Terrell testified that Norris told him he was standing on the stairs when the dog ran under his feet and tripped him.

Norris had been handling the semiautomatic pistol because he was planning to remove the ammunition before fire inspectors came to his home later that day to examine new sprinklers in the condominium.

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/front/story/79129.html

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

1. I don't believe this for a second.

Now if he had said it was the cat... I'd believe that.

[ZombieHorde]

2. How many people have to die

before we outlaw dog ownership?

[Cali_Democrat]

3. LOL. n/t

[Nikki Stone1]

4. Oh Jeez!

:spray:

[The Straight Story]

6. Guns don't kill people, dogs do (nt)

[csziggy]

18. Yes, they do!

Dog Shoots Owner in the Back in Memphis, Tennessee - http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,291687,00.html

Puppy shoots Florida man, deputies say: Dog put paw on gun's trigger as owner tried to kill him - http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5950304

Dog Shoots Owner - http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=animals_oddities&id=5735041

Dog shoots, kills Texas hunter - http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5jBqUBq3fMsrNppklpyQiHcgI6tew

Oregon man shot by dog recovers - http://www.seattlepi.com/local/389174_manshot25.html

More: http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=dog+shoots+owner&sourceid=navclient-ff&rlz=1B3GGGL_enUS280US281&ie=UTF-8

[dana_b]

10. LOL

:evilgrin:

[-..__...]

11. Wouldn't be the first (or last), time...

people here have called for the banning of dog ownership (for specific breeds).

[rcrush]

5. The dog had been planning this for weeks.

They found the insurance paperwork buried in the backyard.

[Cerridwen]

7. "Dog ate my homework" wasn't good enough?!

*sigh*

[TheCowsCameHome]

8. The dog should have been packing heat......

..........this could have been prevented.

[pipi_k]

9. Farts, chewed up homework, shootings....dogs get blamed for everything!!!

:cry:

[Kaleva]

12. Guy has bullet in chamber, finger on trigger, safety off ,standing on stairs...

Yea, the dog tripped him and this was nothing but a tragic accident.

[burning rain]

13. Yep, it stinks to high heaven.

.

[ZombieHorde]

14. The story does seem mighty suspicious. nt

[Kaleva]

16. If I was on the jury, his lawyer would have to work overtime...

proving his client was stupid enough to ignore basic safety rules.

[rrneck]

15. That dog won't hunt. nt

[TwilightGardener]

17. I can only believe this if it was a wiener dog.

Wiener dogs are very dangerous household hazards.