A police dog with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police picked up a discarded handgun and managed to cause it to fire as officers in Calgary pursued two suspects, according to CBC News.
Officers had been called to a grocery store in Chestermere after two men, one carrying a handgun, assaulted a third man, witnesses told police.
“While tracking, the police dog located a handgun in a bushy treed area,” according to a statement from the Chestermere RCMP. “During the recovery by the police dog, the trigger was activated and a shot was fired from the handgun.”
No one, including the police dog, was hurt in the shooting. RCMP Southern Alberta Communications Officer Curtis Peters explained to CTV News that the dogs are trained to find evidence.
“The dog is fine,” Peters said. “It’s trained to respond and do its job even in the presence of gunfire, so the dog was quite happy to continue to go to work, as was the handler.”
Peters added that it’s not clear if the gun was dropped or if the trigger was pulled, but he said he’s thankful the loaded gun was found by police.
RCMP officers are still looking for the two suspects who ran from the scene. The victim was treated for minor injuries.