Cop Shoots Partner While Aiming at Dog That Bared Its Teeth

A St. Louis Metropolitan police officer accidently shot his partner while attempting to shoot a dog that was perceived as being aggressive because it showed its teeth, reports say.

The incident occurred in St. Louis' Dutchtown South neighborhood Thursday morning, KSDK.com reported.

Police were responding to a report of a copper theft when they encountered an unsecured dog which reportedly showed its teeth at one of the officers when he approached it. The cop then fired three or four shots at the canine.

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After missing the intended target, one of the bullets reportedly ricocheted off the sidewalk and hit the unidentified partner near his elbow.

The wounded police officer was treated at Saint Louis University Hospital, where his injuries were described as minor, according to KSDK.com.

Both police officers have between three and five years on the force, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.

Police are currently searching for the owner of the dog, which ran off and hasn't been seen since. Authorities could not say whether or not the animal had been wounded.

No arrests were reported as a result of the incident.

Dog shootings by police are increasingly being reported nationwide.

On June 30, cops in Hawthorne, Calif., shot and killed a Rottweiler as they arrested a man for allegedly causing a disturbance at the scene of an armed robbery.

The dog shooting subsequently went viral, receiving more than 620,000 views on YouTube as of Friday morning.

In the video, one of the officers is seen shooting the dog four times as it approaches the cops after they've put its owner, Leon Rosby, in handcuffs.

Rosby was driving through the area when he pulled over and began recording the police activity at the scene of an armed robbery, the local news website Daily Breeze reported.

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Days after the shooting occurred, three of the officers were pulled from street duty after reportedly receiving numerous death threats.

The dog's owner has since filed a complaint against police for his arrest and what he says was the needless killing of his dog, according to his attorney, Michael Gulden.