A man who thought someone was breaking into his house Sunday afternoon accidentally shot himself in the hand as he searched for an intruder, sheriff's Deputy Anthony Pruitt said in a report.

The man, of Rocky Point, Midway, told deputies he was asleep in bed about 5 p.m. Sunday when his dog started barking and jumped off the bed.

The man woke up "thinking that someone was breaking into his house, so he grabbed his Savage .22 caliber long rifle," the report said.

He thought the gun was unloaded "so he was trying to load it as he was checking the house," the report said.

"He then stated that his pinkie must have hit the trigger while his left hand was over the end of the barrel, causing the gun to fire the chambered bullet into his left hand just below his middle finger."

The man was interviewed at the Laughlin Memorial Hospital emergency room, where deputies were called as he was receiving treatment.