By Julianne McShane -
NBC News
A Kansas man was shot in the back on Saturday after a dog stepped on a rifle on top of the pickup truck they were traveling in, causing the gun to accidentally discharge, authorities said.
The accident happened around 9:40 am (local time) aboard a pickup truck on a rural road about 46 miles south of the city of Wichita, Tim Hay, Wellington Fire and Emergency Chief, told NBC News. , sister network of Noticias Telemundo.
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The dog stepped on a rifle that was in the rear of the vehicle, causing it to go off and hit the man in the back.
The 30-year-old victim was found in the front passenger seat
, Hay explained.
Emergency medical personnel performed CPR, but the man was pronounced dead at the scene.
The Sumner County Sheriff's Office identified the victim as Wichita resident
Joseph Austin Smith
, local NBC News affiliate KSN TV reported.
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Another person in the driver's seat was not injured, Hay said.
It has not been clarified who the truck belonged to or who owned the pet
.
It is also not known who called the emergency services.
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The investigation is continuing, but authorities believe it was an accident involving a hunting weapon, according to the Sumner County Sheriff's Office, which detailed that hunting equipment was found in the back of the vehicle.
