Teen Allegedly Shoots Man in Accident Attempting to Get Cat to Chase Gun's Laser
A 19-year-old woman in Kenosha, Wisconsin, was charged Thursday for shooting a man while she was allegedly trying to get a cat to play with a handgun's laser sight, according to the Associated Press.
The Kenosha News reported Jashanti Pleasant, 19, was charged with injury by negligent use of a weapon for the incident.
The criminal complaint stated Pleasant was visiting an apartment on Tuesday where a small group was present. Among them was a 21-year-old man who had reportedly brought a 9mm handgun with him, which he allegedly set on a piece of furniture.
The complaint details that a witness said Pleasant picked up the handgun and was trying to get a cat to play with the laser sight, which was being projected onto the floor.
The Associated Press reported that a witness said the gun went off and a bullet hit the 21-year old man. After being shot, the man was described as appearing to be in shock momentarily before asking Pleasant if she had shot him.
The man reportedly went into another apartment, where he was later found by police who had responded to a 911 call. He had been shot in the thigh, and the Kenosha News wrote the bullet went all the way through his leg and hit a stove in the apartment.
The newspaper said police officers applied a tourniquet on the wounded man's upper leg to stop the bleeding, and he was transported to Froedtert Pleasant Prairie Hospital for treatment.
Pleasant reportedly told Kenosha police she had believed the gun was not loaded and that it had fired the bullet by accident. The 21-year-old man who was shot admitted to police he had brought the gun to the apartment but said he too had thought it was not loaded.
He claimed he had removed the magazine from the firearm when he put it on the nightstand. Kenosha police said when the gun was recovered, there was a round in the chamber and six rounds in the magazine.
"If the magazine had not been inserted into the gun when Ms. Pleasant fired the shot, there would have been no round in the chamber later when the gun was found," the Kenosha News quoted from the police report.
Pleasant had allegedly been consuming alcohol during the time of the incident, according to the complaint. She was released on a signature bond.
The Kenosha News wrote that the wounded man is also facing charges for violating bond conditions that barred him from having a weapon. The paper said he has been out of custody on bond since June 2020 after he was charged with several counts of first degree recklessly endangering safety for an incident in which gunshots were fired at a home. The Kenosha News said the man had allegedly driven the vehicle the men involved in the shooting used to leave the house.
Newsweek contacted the Kenosha Police Department for more information and comment but did not hear back in time for publication.
