West Jordan man says his dog caused him to shoot his neighbor

A West Jordan man who has been arrested for firing a rifle through the floor of his apartment, wounding a neighbor, blamed the shooting on his dog.

On Saturday at about 3:30 p.m., police received a report of a shooting at the Upperwest Apartments at 3283 W. Jordan Line Pkwy. When officers arrived, a woman who lives there told them she had been struck in the arm by a bullet that came through her bedroom ceiling.

The bullet grazed the woman’s forearm — it drew blood, but she was not seriously injured and declined medical attention, according to a probable cause statement.

When officers went to the apartment above, they stopped a man who was walking down the hall. The 20-year-old said he lived in that apartment, and at first denied that he had fired a gun. Later, according to police, he made an “excited utterance” that he was “removing his gun from the top rack when his dog jumped on him,” and that his hand “slipped … and he fired the gun.”

He later told investigators that his dog jumped on him, knocking the gun off a table, according to the probable cause statement. He said it landed barrel-side down and the gun went off. He told police he didn’t see a hole in the carpet and thought the gun had fired a blank round that he got when he purchased the gun.

After obtaining a search warrant, police searched the man’s apartment and found a .223 caliber AR rifle, ammunition, marijuana and drug paraphernalia.

The man was booked into Salt Lake County jail for investigation of felony discharge of a firearm, possession of a dangerous weapon by a restricted person, and possession of drugs and drug paraphernalia. He is being held without bail.

As of Tuesday morning, the man has not been charged. The Salt Lake Tribune generally does not name suspects unless they have been charged with a crime.