A man and a police dog were injured during a law enforcement shooting episode in St. George late Tuesday night, authorities said.
The Washington County Sheriff’s Office has not released the condition of suspect, though he was expected to survive. He was shot by police after shooting the police canine.
Washington County Attorney’s Office Chief Investigator Barry Golding said the man, believed to be from St. George, was hit once in the arm and multiple times in the lower half of his body.
The canine was in stable condition following surgery, and was released from a veterinary clinic on Wednesday afternoon, police said.
K9 Tess has been released from the Vet to go home with her handler. Full recovery predicted in 6 weeks.
— Washington Co SO, UT (@washeriff) August 30, 2017
Events began just before 10 p.m. Tuesday, when a man allegedly stole a truck after assaulting the vehicle’s owner near 400 North Bluff Street, a Washington County Attorney’s Office news release said.
The owner of the truck had confronted the suspect for throwing rocks at the truck, the owner reported to police. That’s when the suspect assaulted the man, and took off in the vehicle.
“It turned out he was trying to break into his vehicle,” Golding said.
The suspect later abandoned the truck and stole a second truck, and St. George police pursued, authorities said.
The suspect crashed the second truck into a house near 2500 Santa Clara Drive. Officers from three agencies — the Santa Clara police department, St. George police department and the Washington County Sheriff’s Office — “attempted to talk the suspect into surrendering,” while the man sat in the truck, the news release said.
After a 30-minute stand-off, the suspect opened the truck door and Tess, a 7-year-old Malinois police dog, jumped into the cab, officials said. The suspect shot the dog in the head with a handgun, hitting the canine twice.
Washington COSO (Utah) #K9 officer shot in the line of duty transported to Vegas for surgery this morning. Now in stable condition. pic.twitter.com/cSOJ6Ojywy
— LVMPD (@LVMPD) August 30, 2017
Officers from the three agencies then fired at the suspect, who was struck multiple times. The suspect fired more rounds after hitting the dog, though didn’t hit anyone, Golding said. No police officers were injured in the episode.
Police believe the man found the handgun in the second truck he stole.
The suspect was taken to Dixie Regional Medical Center for surgery. Police said they believe he will recover.
The police dog was flown by medical helicopter to a veterinary specialist in Las Vegas after initial treatment to stop the bleeding in Washington County. Las Vegas police shut down a busy intersection so that the helicopter could land in front of the clinic and deliver Tess, according to a sheriff’s office news release.
K9 Tess happy to be headed home. pic.twitter.com/nto98OaRyl
— Washington Co SO, UT (@washeriff) August 30, 2017
The dog was in stable condition and released from the Las Vegas clinic Wednesday afternoon. Tess was back with her handler, and expected to make a full recovery in six weeks.
The suspect will be arrested and charged once he is released from the hospital, Golding said.
Luke Ramseth contributed to this story.