Dog the Bounty Hunter's 13-year-old stepgrandson killed by his dad in accidental shooting: report
The tragedy unfolded at the Naples, Florida apartment of Gregory Zecca – the son of Chapman's wife, Francie Frane – on Saturday night, TMZ reported.
Zecca allegedly shot and killed his own son Anthony in what the family described in a statement to the outlet as a 'tragic accident', per the New York Post.
The Collier County Sheriff's Office confirmed to the Naples Daily News it was investigating a deadly shooting from Saturday night, calling it an 'isolated incident' without identifying anyone involved.
'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,' representatives for Chapman and his family told TMZ.
Zecca — a member of Chapman's bounty team, according to TMZ — appears to have a passion for firearms.
He took his son Anthony to a gun range in 2021 and that same year the father-son duo visited a gun store, according to photos shared on his Instagram.
Chapman, 72, married Frane, Zecca's mother, in 2021 shortly after their respective, former spouses died.
The Dog was previously married to Beth Chapman for 13 years until she died in June 2019 following a lengthy battle against throat cancer.
In part, their families were united by their shared grief and patriotism.
'We understood the pain that the other one was feeling and [in] those tough days and moments, we helped each other stand up. We could cry with each other and talk about what we were feeling,' Frane said in a September 2020 interview with Entertainment Tonight.
'We were able to walk alongside each other through the pain and heartbreak and it brought us together in this amazing way.'
Frane and her family, including Zecca, were quick to join in on Chapman's lifestyle.
'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,' Chapman said on T he Dr. Oz Show in 2020.
'She just fit right in,' he added about his first bounty hunt alongside his would-be fifth wife. 'She started getting leads and writing them down, so there's more than just tracking and hunting.'
Chapman also has 13 children between six different women – but he was only ever married to four of them.
The Post has reached out to the Collier County Sheriff's Office for more information.
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