Florida Man Fatally Shoots Son-In-Law As He Jumps Out Of Bushes For A Birthday Surprise

Florida’s still relatively lax gun laws have caused a tragedy to befall a family after a friendly birthday surprise turned fatal.

According to reports, Christopher Bergan (pictured above with his wife) flew from Norway to Gulf Breeze, Florida to surprise his father-in-law Richard Dennis for his 61st birthday. The 37-year-old startled his wife’s father by jumping out of some bushes in his backyard — but Dennis, thinking it was an intruder, shot and killed his son-in-law.

It all went down on Tuesday, when the Norway resident landed in the Sunshine State around 11 p.m. and headed straight to his father-in-law’s house.

About two hours before Christopher, who had reportedly lived in Florida before returning to Norway, arrived at Dennis’ house, another relative had surprised the Florida man and banged on the front door, which startled him.

As Santa Rosa County Sheriff Bob Johnson explained at a press conference on Thursday, the unnamed family member got into a “verbal altercation” with the 61-year-old, causing Dennis to “[run] the person off.” Johnson continued:

“At 11:30, Mr. Dennis hears the same type of banging on the back door that he heard on the front door earlier. So he turns on the back porch light, he steps out, and Mr. Bergan jumps out of the shadows, scaring Mr. Dennis. Mr. Dennis gives off one round, striking Mr. Bergan, killing him instantly.”

Devastating.

The Sheriff said later in the press conference that Dennis was “totally startled” when his son-in-law jumped out and allegedly made a “growling” noise upon revealing himself. Reportedly, Dennis’ bullet — which came from a 380 semi-automatic gun — “was a shot that went straight to [Bergan’s] heart.”

According to Johnson, Dennis called 911 as soon as he realized what he had done. EMTs tried to stop the bleeding when they first arrived at the scene, but to no avail.

Johnson said the department’s investigation revealed the death was “totally accidental,” adding there were no charges warranted against the gun owner. Noting how he understood Dennis’ reaction, the Sheriff explained:

“I’m not going to second guess Mr. Dennis for doing what he did. I mean, here he is, he just had a confrontation at the front of his house, a couple hours later somebody’s banging on his back door. And it’s a fenced yard, and somebody jumps out of the bushes, I mean, you can’t really say anything against Mr. Dennis for doing what he did. I think it’s just a horrible accident that should never have happened.”

According to the Giffords Law Center, about 36,000 Americans are killed by guns each year; 487 of those deaths are unintentional.

The state of Florida tightened up its gun laws in the wake of the Parkland Shooting in 2018, passing a bill banning long gun sales to 18-20 year olds, banning “bump stocks,” creating a three-day waiting period for nearly all firearm sales, and creating a means of seizing firearms via “Risk Protection Orders.”

But the state still has a high ranking on GunsandAmmo.com’s “Best Gun Friendly States” list in 2018, coming in at number 23 “thanks to one of the nation’s most successful shall-issue permit systems, a thriving competitive shooting culture, and an excellent Castle Doctrine statute” — which allows property owners to use deadly force to defend themselves against an intruder on their property.

Yet another example of why it’s a mistake to sneak up on Florida gun owners.

[Image via Facebook]