Two K-9s with a local sheriff’s office in Florida are recovering after an armed carjacking suspect shot both dogs during a police pursuit early Saturday, authorities said.
Volusia County K-9 Ax was shot in the side of his face just after midnight while K-9 Endo was shot in the paw and chin almost two hours later after separate confrontations with the suspect, who had fled into a wooded area, the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office said.
“There is no doubt that K-9 Ax and K-9 Endo took bullets that were meant for my deputies,” Sheriff Mike Chitwood said in a media briefing Saturday afternoon. “If the deputies would have gone into the woods, the first person to come in contact with Singleton, without a doubt, would have been shot.”
Chitwood praised the dogs, saying both had to be pulled away from the suspect even after they were shot. Both K-9s were back on their feet Sunday and are continuing to recover.
The incident happened early Saturday after the suspect directed his Lyft driver to take him to a remote road, where he then carjacked the white Kia Sedona minivan at gunpoint.
When deputies located the minivan, the suspect bailed out near the Deltona Gardens Apartments and ran into a wooded area.
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