Man shoots dead son-in-law who jumped out of bush to give him a birthday surprise

A Florida man shot and killed his son-in-law after the victim who had flew in from Norway to the US jumped out of the bushes to surprise him for his birthday.

61-year-old Richard Dennis opened fire on Christopher Bergan, 37, outside his house in Pensacola on Tuesday night (Oct.1) in what police described as a ‘horrible accident’.

On Thursday, October 3, Santa Rosa County Sheriff Bob Johnson announced at a news conference that Dennis will not face charges for the incident.

Johnson said Bergan, who is married to Dennis’ daughter and has a son, and lives in Norway, arrived at a Florida airport on Tuesday evening and went straight to his father-in-law’s home.

Dennis, who had no idea of Bergan’s arrival reportedly heard someone banging on his backdoor at around 11.30pm. He turned on the porch light before Bergan leapt ‘out of the shadows’, making a growling sound as he emerged from a bush.

Unknown to him , it was his inlaw, Dennis fired one shot that struck Bergan in the chest, killing him instantly.

The sheriff said no charges were warranted in the shooting, adding that it ‘never should have happened’.

‘Anybody who is religious out there, you need to pray for this family,’ Johnson said.

‘I can’t imagine what they’re going through… it’s horrible.’

Bergan was married to Dennis’ daughter, and had lived in Florida before they relocated to his native Norway.