Armadillo Ricochet: Texas Man Shot In Head After Firing At Hard-Shelled Animal

An armadillo ricochet caught a Texas man by surprise after he successfully shot the hard-sided animal. The Cass County Sheriff’s Office has revealed that a man encountered the armadillo along a lonely stretch of highway in East Texas around 3 a.m.

The Texas man who shot the armadillo received a head wound due to the bullet ricochet, KLTV reports. After the shooting, the man admitted deputies that he was shooting at the Texarkana area animal. The unidentified man has reportedly being treated for a minor wound at a local hospital.

The man’s wife was reportedly still inside the house when he took his.38 revolver and shot the armadillo three times. The ricochet of one round reportedly struck the man in the jaw. He was airlifted to an area hospital, where his jaw was wired shut. The status of the armadillo remains unknown.

Cass County Sheriff’s Deputies are investigating the armadillo ricochet incident as “a possible accidental shooting.” The Texas shooting is the second time in the past three months that the tank-esque creatures have taken some revenge on humans.

Chief Deputy Roy Barker said shooting armadillos is not uncommon in Texas. The animals are often reportedly regarded as pests. The deputy also stated that the man’s bullet may have ricocheted off of a rock near the armadillo, and not off the hard shell of the critter.

“This is the country, and we have a lot of armadillos,” Deputy said. “Sometimes they can be kind of destructive and dig things up in the yard, like plants and gardens. So it’s not uncommon.”

In April, a Georgia man wounded his elderly mother-in-law when he fired his 9mm handgun at an armadillo. The round reportedly hit a fence, went through the back door of woman’s trailer, and then “penetrated” the recliner where she was sitting. The 74-year-old woman reportedly suffered non-life-threatening injuries when the bullet struck her in the back.

What do you think about the shooting of armadillos in Texas because they are pests?

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