Florida carjacking suspect opens fire on deputy K-9s
DELTONA, Fla. (NewsNation Now) — Two Florida K-9s are recovering after a carjacking suspect shot the police dogs while trying to flee from sheriff’s deputies early Saturday.
The shootings were captured on body camera video.
The video, which may be graphic for some, starts off by showing a deputy interacting with a Lyft driver who says he was carjacked at gunpoint.
“I am a Lyft driver,” the man said. “He put the weapon here.”
Deputies tracked down the car near an apartment building. Officials say the suspect then went into a wooded area to hide.
Volusia County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Andrew Gant said one K-9 was shot shortly after midnight while the other dog was shot two hours later.
“You’re alright buddy,” the deputy can be heard saying in the video. “We’re going to get that bad man.”
The suspect, 21-year-old Shedrick Singleton Jr., was taken to a hospital with life-threatening injuries after deputies returned fire. He faces charges for armed carjacking and use of a deadly weapon against a police K-9.
“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
Photos posted by the sheriff’s office on Twitter showed the dogs hurt in the paw, lower jaw and face. After multiple surgeries, both dogs are back on their feet.