Man dressed as Santa shot with pellet gun

WASHINGTON, Dec. 25 (UPI) -- A man dressed as Santa Claus says he was shot with a pellet gun as he made his way to hand out Christmas gifts in Washington, D.C.

On Tuesday morning, Xavier Hawkins was waving to children while walking to hand out 800 presents for the 22nd annual Toys for Tots gift giveaway when he was shot with a pellet gun, the Washington Post reported.

The entire incident was caught on video by a cameraman for a WJLA-TV, Washington.

"Somebody shot me," Hawkins said on the video. "Somebody shot me in the back. I think somebody shot me with a pellet gun."

Hawkins, who has handed out gifts at the event for the past seven years, was treated for a large welt on his upper back at a local hospital and quickly released.

Later, Hawkins said in an interview that he thought he heard three or four more shot and was worried that others might be hit.

"I told them, 'Remember, if you look at Christmas, you got that little bad boy called the Scrooge. Well, Scrooge was out there today, and he got your daddy,'" Hawkins said.

Police said they don't have any suspects in custody, but that they believe the shot was fired from a nearby apartment building.