Kansas man dies after being shot by his own dog in truck, police say

A man has died after a dog stepped on a rifle and shot him from the rear of a truck in the US state of Kansas.

Joseph Smith, 30, entered the front passenger seat of his truck last Saturday morning in Geuda Springs, which is home to just 194 people north of the Oklahoma border.

The hunter then placed his dog in the back of his jeep along with his hunting gear, which included a rifle.

However, the canine stepped on the trigger of the owner’s rifle and killed him.

Emergency services were called and he was given CPR, but he could not be saved and he died at the scene.

Wellington fire department chief Tim Hay said another person was found unharmed in the driver’s seat.

Officials added that the accident appears to have been hunting related, with supplies found in the back of the vehicle.

“A canine belonging to the owner of the pickup stepped on the rifle, causing the weapon to discharge,” the Sumner County Sheriff’s office said in a statement to local media.

“The fired round struck the passenger, who died of his injuries on scene.

“The investigation is ongoing, but the preliminary investigation shows it to be a hunting related accident.”

The owner of the truck and the dog was not immediately clear, and an investigation is taking place. Sky News