The accident occurred late on the night of Tuesday, November 11. According to Captain Michael Schoone of the Shillington Police Department, the man was in the process of cleaning his shotgun when one of his dogs jumped onto the bed, causing the firearm to discharge and strike him in the lower back.

“The exact details of the cleaning process are unclear,” Schoone explained to WFMZ. “It’s uncertain whether the dog’s paw triggered the shot due to the safety being off or if there was a possible malfunction with the gun. At this point, we simply don’t have all the answers.”

Shillington Police Department Captain Michael Schoone said the man was cleaning his shotgun when one of his dogs jumped on the bed and the gun went off.

“He’s not sure what stage of cleaning he was in at the time, so it’s unsure if the dog’s paw may have gotten caught inside the trigger and the safety was off, or if there was some sort of manufacturer malfunction. That’s unknown at this time,” Schoone told WFMZ.

Police told ABC News the man was found on the ground but conscious when first responders got to the home. Police said the man, his son and two dogs were the only ones at the home but the son wasn’t in the same room when the shooting happened. 

The man was taken to the hospital were he went into surgery for his injuries. His condition is unknown at this time, but police told WFMX he is expected to survive. 

“Obviously, you should be treating every weapon as if it’s loaded. You know, all the cardinal rules: keeping it in a safe direction, finger off the trigger,” Schoone told WFMZ. “It’s the perfect storm. It was just the right place at the right time, or the wrong time.”

Police are still investigating the shooting, but it has been documented as an accidental shooting in nonprofit Gun Violence Archive’s record. It is one of the nearly 1,160 unintentional shootings recorded by the group this year.