Residents of Manhattan’s Lower East Side had themselves a shock Friday evening when suspected gunfire turned out to actually be the sound of a French Bulldog named Winston falling six stories, through a Dodge Challenger‘s sunroof.
News of the incident surfaced via Reddit, where a user posted the above photo of the aftermath. Another user, claiming to be the dog’s owner, chimed in to explain just how their dog ended up falling from a building in the first place.
“His leash was removed before we entered our apartment after going on our nightly walk,” said Reddit user heiny_and_winst. “Instead of going in our apartment, and for the very first time, he bolted up the next few flights of stairs. The roof access door had been left open and we found ourselves on the dark unlit roof. I tried to get him to come to me but he bolted again, towards the front edge of the building. I saw him try and slow down at the last second but it was too late and he went over the edge.”
Eyewitnesses were first confused by the loud noise but became incredulous as they began to piece together the situation.
“At first we thought we were being shot at,” recalled eyewitness Jolie Kerr in an interview with Gothamist. “It was like a bowling ball went through the car.”
“I heard this giant smash alongside a woman shrieking,” said Reddit user must_be_the_mangoes, corroborating the above. “I naturally thought there was a car accident, as everyone was staring at this silver Dodge Challenger. The crowd gets closer to see the sunroof completely smashed in and a dog standing in the cockpit. Thirty seconds pass and a panicked woman comes flying down the stairs of an apartment building, climbs onto the hood of the car and pulls the dog out through the sunroof… as depicted.”
“Winston was rushed to the nearest animal hospital immediately after falling six stories from our apartment building’s roof,” continued the dog’s alleged owner. “He has a cut on his hind leg that has been stitched, but miraculously did not break a single bone in his body. I’ve been told that he has a fair amount of bruising, as to be expected. They are holding him for another 24 hours to make sure he is breathing properly and to make sure new symptoms don’t manifest.”
Like any sane person, the Dodge’s owner reportedly didn’t buy the story that a dog had smashed their sunroof. A security camera from a store across the street, however, reportedly captured the incident, and the footage reportedly convinced the owner of what had happened.
A friend of Winston’s owner reportedly told Gothamist that Winston is “fine” and “literally only had a few bruises, that was the worst that happened.”
“All New Yorkers are terrified of air conditioners falling on them,” concluded eyewitness Jolie Kerr. “Now I’m afraid of an animal falling off a building and onto me! It’s a whole new specific New York fear to have.”