Confrontation at Dog Park Leads to Self-Defense Shooting

A Washington man was forced to use his gun to defend himself and his son in a dog park yesterday afternoon.

A 28-year-old man and his young child were at a dog park in Yakima, WA, Sunday afternoon. Around 2:30 PM, the police receive numerous 911 calls reporting a man acting erratically. The man in question, 22-year-old Daniel Ortega, was in a confrontation with the 28-year-old. According to a police news report, Ortega “attempted to endanger the life of the small child with his words and actions.”

The victim told Ortega to leave his family alone and attempted to leave the park. When his attempts at de-escalating the situation were unsuccessful, he was forced to fire his concealed carry gun in self-defense.

The police state that he “discharged his legally owned firearm in defense of himself and his child.” The man who fired the weapon was protecting himself and his son, and was not the aggressor, said Yakima police Capt. Shawn Boyle.

While the details are scarce, it seems like the victim did everything right in this situation. He attempted to de-escalate the situation and remove himself and his son from the area. It seems that as a last resort, he used his firearm to defend himself and his family. This seems like a pretty clear-cut case of self-defense, as there were numerous witnesses that the police interviewed, all of which corroborated the victim’s story.