WTKS-FM Orlando midday host Shannon Burke missed his show Friday as he sat behind bars. The Orlando Sentinel reported that Burke told police he thought a gun he was waving was not loaded when it went off, sending a bullet through the leg of his dog before it grazed his wife’s head.
Burke is facing charges of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and animal cruelty. He was being held in the Seminole County Jail after the shooting in his home in Altamonte Springs, FL.
According to the newspaper report, Burke told police he became angry with the dog, a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, and began waving the gun, which he thought was not loaded. It was. The resulting shot sent a bullet through the dog’s leg and then grazed the head of Burke’s wife, Catherine. She was taken to a hospital and the dog to an emergency veterinary clinic.
Burke made his initial court appearance on Friday. At last report, he was still jailed in lieu of $10,000 bail.
RBR/TVBR observation: Not that any shooting in anger is logical, but let’s consider this one critically. A dog doesn’t know what a gun is, so threatening a dog with a gun is pointless, whether it is loaded or not. At least the injuries were not life threatening to either victim.
