Benjamin Ashford|'Sweet' Texas grocery store worker killed when gun went off while trying to pet dog

A Texas grocery store worker was killed when a gun went off while he was in the process of loading groceries into a car.

The Benjamin Ashfordincident happened around 3:30 p.m. Friday at Crump Food Store in Linden, about 150 miles east of Dallas near the Louisiana and Arkansas borders, police said in a news release on Sunday.

The employee, 39-year-old Larry Lawrence, was putting groceries in the back seat of a car. There was a dog in the back seat and when Lawrence went to pet it, a .22-caliber rifle went off, police said.

Lawrence was hit in the chest. Witnesses tried to save him, as did paramedics, but he was pronounced dead soon after.

Apparent accident

Linden Police Chief David Dulude said the shooting appears to be an accident but that the case is under investigation.

"It is unclear of the means of the discharge at this time," he said in the news release. “We would like (to) relay our deepest condolences to Lawrence's loved ones."

A co-worker of Lawrence's posted on Facebook that the gun went off after the dog stepped on it.

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More on the ‘sweet’ grocery store employee 

Lawrence’s aunt shared an online obituary about him, calling him “my sweet nephew.”

He loved bowling, watching sports and spending time with his best friend, his obituary says. 

Chris Spencer, who identified himself as a co-worker of Lawrence's and started a GoFundMe page to create a memorial fund in his honor, posted on Facebook that "no order of groceries was too small or too large for him to carry out."

"Larry Lawrence knew Jesus as His Savior," he wrote. "He showed it in his daily walk, and how he treated his co-workers and his customers ... We are so grateful that he loved his job and considered us family. We already miss Larry immensely."

He said Lawrence lived with his parents, Larry and Deborah Sellers Lawrence, and that "this is a devastating loss for them."

Lawrence also is survived by his sister and grandmother.

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