KTLA

Wisconsin woman shoots friend while using gun’s laser sight to play with cat

Kenosha police investigate a shooting at 40th Avenue and 45th Street on the city's north side Tuesday, Aug. 10, 2021, in Kenosha, Wis. A 19-year-old woman was using a handgun's laser sight as a cat toy when she accidentally shot a friend, according to prosecutors. The 19-year-old woman was charged Thursday with injury by negligent use of a weapon. (Terry Flores/The Kenosha News via AP)

A Wisconsin woman accidentally shot a friend while using the laser sight on a handgun to play with a cat, authorities said.

A criminal complaint charging the 19-year-old woman with negligent use of a weapon said she was visiting a Kenosha apartment on Tuesday afternoon where a 21-year-old man had brought a handgun.


The woman, who a witness said had been drinking, picked up the handgun, “turned on the laser sight and was pointing it at the floor to get the cat to chase it,” when the gun went off, the complaint filed Thursday said.

The man, who was standing in a doorway, was shot in the thigh, authorities said. He left and went into another apartment, where police found him after responding to a 911 call, the Kenosha News reported.

A tourniquet was applied to his leg to stop the bleeding before he was taken to a hospital. There’s no word on his condition, but authorities said he was facing charges for violating bond conditions that prevented him from having a weapon.

The woman told police she thought the magazine had been taken out of the gun and said it “accidentally went off,” according to the complaint.