Man Killed Over Disagreement About Dog's Weight: Witness

FLORISSANT, MO — One man was killed and another wounded in a shooting at Show-Me's Sports Bar Wednesday night, police said. The Post-Dispatch reports that the shooting was the result of an argument between two men over the weight of a German Shepherd Dog:

The gunman's friend told bar patrons that his dog was 290 pounds. The man who was shot said he didn't believe it, said Carl Leavy, who saw the shooting.

"I know, it sounds ridiculous," Leavy, 46, said.

The gunman reportedly left after the argument, but soon returned with a gun and turned the disagreement toward his victim's weight instead, calling him fat. When his victim confronted him, the gunman shot him four or five times in the chest, according to witnesses.

Another man was wounded in the gunfire. His condition is unknown. The victim died as bar patrons struggled to stop his bleeding and subdue the gunman.

More than 30,000 Americans are killed by guns every year and twice that number are injured, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Gun violence in St. Louis and St. Louis County reached epidemic proportions last year as the city hit a 25-year record for murders. Per capita, St. Louis ranks third for homicides in the United States, behind only Detroit and New Orleans, according to data from the FBI. St. Louis ranks first for non-fatal shootings, according to the Major Cities Chiefs Association, with more than seven times as many shootings as Chicago, accounting for population.

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