Oct 13, 2008 6:03 pm US/Eastern
K9 Finds 2nd Suspect In Police Involved Shooting
Police Dog Grazed By Bullet Will Be Okay
FHP K9 Credited With Capturing Second Suspect
HOMESTEAD (CBS4) ―
Two men are now in custody after a police involved shooting in Homestead which left a police dog injured and a burglary suspect in critical condition.
According to Homestead police spokesman Detective Fernando Morales, the incident began when officers were called to check out reports of a residential burglary in progress around 3:00 a.m.
When the officers arrived, shots were fired and one suspect was hit. He was air rescued to Jackson Memorial Hospital's Ryder Trauma Center in critical condition.
During the shooting a police dog named Bart was also injured. The five year old German Shepard, which was grazed by a bullet, was treated at a local animal hospital and is expected to make a full recovery.
Police set up a 2 mile perimeter in their search for a second suspect in the area of 304th to 312th Street and from 10th to 6th Avenue. It's believed that the second suspect was armed and considered dangerous. Homestead police were assisted in their search efforts on the ground and in the air by officers from Miami Beach, Miami Shores, Miami-Dade and Miami-Dade Schools Police.
Two schools located within the search perimeter, Redondo Elementary and Homestead Middle Schools, were put on a precautionary lockdown. Parents whose children attend those schools were told not to bring them to those campuses. Some parents decided to take their kids home.
"I was happy that we weren't already at school," said parent Bobby Wich, "That was my first thought, I'm glad it happened before school started."
"It's kind of scary knowing that there is shooters going all around the neighborhood trying to kill people," said Wich's son Bobby.
The search for the second suspect lasted several hours. Homeowner David Hamilton and his father watched all the commotion from their front yard of their home.
"Police officers all over the place, helicopters up in the air, and undercover cops were going back and forth, you know up and down the streets recommending that residents stay inside," said David Hamilton.
Just before 10 a.m., Florida Highway Patrol trooper Tom Winders and his K9 partner Bono, a Malinois, found the second burglary suspect in the 9-thousand block of Northwest 10th Street during a grid search of the neighborhood. The FHP says he was hiding under a storage shed on the side of a vacant home.
"Bono and I jumped a 6 and a half foot fence," said Winders, "and we found the suspect in a container."
Meanwhile, a second FHP K9 named Nick, a 6-year old Belgian Malinois, made another crucial discovery; a gun police believe belonged to the suspect.
"These dogs are trained to detect not only human odor, but narcotics. And they've got a good scent, that leads to good pieces of evidence," said FHP Sgt. Alex Annunziato. "What he found here was crucial to prosecute this case."
More than 50 police dogs were used in the search.
"For two highway patrol dogs to do this, we are very fortunate," said Annunziato, "I'm always proud of Nick."
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
Double Homicide In NW Miami-Dade
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