LINDEN, Texas — Linden police officers are responding to an accidental fatal shooting that occurred at Crump Food Center on Friday afternoon.
According to police, the shooting occurred after 3:30 p.m. when store employee Larry Lawrence, 39, of Queen City, was putting groceries in the rear seat of his car, where a dog was located.
Witnesses say that Lawrence began to pet the dog, when a .22 rifle was also located in the rear seat of the vehicle, suddenly discharged and struck him in the chest.
Witnesses attempted to resuscitate Lawrence before paramedics arrived on scene.
He was later pronounced dead at the helipad site, according to police.
While the incident seems accidental, further investigation is required to understand what caused the rifle to fire.
"It is unclear of the means of the discharge at this time," Chief Dulude said.
A GoFundMe page has created for Lawrence's family to help pay for their funeral expenses.