A 17-year-old boy was shot dead by police in Georgia after he allegedly killed a police dog before turning a gun on other officers Saturday, authorities say.
“Just before 2 a.m. this morning, Clayton County Police Department Uniformed Division responded to assist the Jonesboro Police Department in searching for three subjects that had fled from them on foot. During the search we did deploy one of our K-9s,” Clayton County police Capt. John Ivey revealed in a statement shared on Facebook.
While two of the individuals were eventually caught and taken into custody by police, Stephon Ford was tracked to a wooded area by the K-9 unit, CNN reported. Though police gave verbal commands to Ford, instructing him to come out, the suspect refused. Instead, Ford allegedly opened fire on the officers, striking the police dog, Ivey continued.
The dog, identified as a K-9 police dog named Waro, was rushed to an emergency veterinarian’s office where it succumbed to its injuries, Fox 5 Atlanta reported. (REPORT: Police Dog Killed After Gunman Opens Fire On Patrol Car)
Hours later, law enforcement authorities relocated and urged Ford to drop his weapon. Ford allegedly refused and pointed his weapon at police officers, prompting them to open fire which ultimately led to his demise, CNN reported.
“The overall situation is tragic. We hate it,” Assistant Chief Bruce Parks stated, according to Fox 5 News. “We never want anything like this to happen.”
The investigation into shooting is being carried out by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, the outlet stated.