The step grandson of reality TV star Dog the Bounty Hunter has reportedly been shot dead by his father in a “freak accident” at their apartment in Naples, Florida, over the weekend.
Gregory Zecca, the son of Dog’s wife Francie Frane, fatally shot his 13-year-old son Anthony in an “isolated incident” that is currently being investigated by local law enforcement, who were called to the scene shortly after it took place at 8pm on Saturday night, according to TMZ.
The Collier County Sheriff’s Office has confirmed that a person was shot dead, that no arrests have been made and that its deputies are investigating but declined to identify either the victim or the shooter.
Dog the Bounty Hunter said his family were grieving (Getty)
But Dog, real name Duane Chapman, appeared to confirm the news when he told the celebrity gossip site via a representative: “We are grieving as a family over this incomprehensible tragic accident and would ask for continued prayers as we grieve the loss of our beloved grandson, Anthony.”
Chapman, 73, is a former felon, biker, bail bondsman and professional bounty hunter who rose to fame as the star of A&E’s hit reality TV show Dog the Bounty Hunter (2004-12) and the subsequent shows Dog and Beth: On the Hunt (2013–2015) and Dog’s Most Wanted (2019).
He married Frane in 2021, two years after his fifth wife Beth Smith passed away from throat cancer. She had likewise lost her husband Bob to cancer in 2018 and the pair reportedly bonded over their shared grief.
Dog described the boy’s death as and “incomprehensible tragic accident” (Fox News)
“We understood the pain that the other one was feeling and [in] those tough days and moments, we helped each other stand up,” Frane told Entertainment Tonight in a September 2020 interview.
“We could cry with each other and talk about what we were feeling. We were able to walk alongside each other through the pain and heartbreak and it brought us together in this amazing way.”
Dog quickly incorporated his new spouse and her family into his lifestyle, telling TV’s Dr Mehmet Oz (now Administrator for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services in Donald Trump’s administration) in a 2020 interview of his own: “I know she’s a hunter. Her and her two sons have hunted bow hunt, so they track, they look for things that the prey leaves behind.
“She just fit right in. She started getting leads and writing them down, so there’s more than just tracking and hunting.”
Chapman, who last year told Fox News he would like to be considered for the role of Trump’s “deportation czar,” is understood to have 13 children of his own from his earlier marriages.
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