Man shoots dog, wounding himself and another man in the process, Iowa cops say

An Iowa man is accused of killing a dog, wounding himself and another man in the process, with one shot from a handgun, according to authorities.

The suspect, 44-year-old Larry Beeding, was sitting on a couch at a home in Mediapolis when it happened, court documents say. It was around 4 a.m. on March 19.

A dog was lying between Beeding and Aren Shafer, 25, who had a child in his lap.

The dog began growling at the child, documents said, which made Beeding angry.

Grasping the animal by the head with one hand and clutching a pistol with the other, Beeding said “don’t growl at my granddaughter,” and squeezed the trigger, a witness told deputies with the Des Moines County Sheriff’s Office.

The bullet killed the dog “instantly,” but didn’t stop there. It went through Beeding’s hand before striking Shafer in his upper torso.

Apparently surprised by what happened, Beeding said he didn’t know the gun was loaded, according to the witness, who called 911.

Both men were transported to a local hospital, where Shafer was then flown to the University of Iowa Hospital for further treatment of serious injuries.

At one point, Beeding told investigators that the dog “was not acting in an aggressive [manner,]” and that he had not acted in self defense, documents read.

Deputies arrested Beeding the next day on charges of reckless use of a firearm causing serious injury, and animal abuse, the sheriff’s office said.

As of March 20, Shafer was still in the hospital in serious condition.

Mediapolis is about 65 miles south of Iowa City.

This story was originally published March 22, 2022 at 3:47 PM with the headline "Man shoots dog, wounding himself and another man in the process, Iowa cops say."