COLUMBIA, S.C. (WIS) – Two teens have been arrested and one is on the run after a Richland County Sheriff’s Department K-9 was killed during a chase.
“I am also very sad but also very mad,” Sheriff Leon Lott said during a Monday news conference.
The K-9, named Bumi, was shot at least two times while chasing the teens. Bumi was wearing a vest but was hit underneath it the chest, the sheriff said.
“We took Bumi to the vet anyway to see what we could do,” Lott said.
Lott said the incident happened after deputies spotted a car on Parklane Road, which was reported stolen Sunday evening. Around 2 a.m. Monday morning, the deputies tried to stop the car but the driver refused to stop, according to deputies.
There was a “short pursuit” in which deputies deployed stop sticks and the vehicle crashed.
One of the suspects, a 16-year-old boy, stayed in the car and two others ran away, according to Lott.
The K-9, named Bumi, was shot at least two times while chasing the teens, deputies said.
After the crash, deputies chased after the two teens. Lott said one of the deputies who chased was K-9 Specialist Alan Ware alongside his K-9, Bumi. Lott said the K-9 took after one of the teens, but got out of Ware’s vision. The chase turned a corner behind a home near the intersection of Alida Street and Wilkes Road. According to the sheriff’s department, one of the teens shot Bumi at least twice.
“This is the third dog we have had killed this year. This is the second dog we have had shot,” Lott said.
The 16-year-old who stayed at the scene of the crash was arrested and charged with obstruction of justice and misprision, deputies said.
Deputies arrested a 13-year-old at a home in Lexington County at 3:30 p.m. on Monday, after Lott’s press conference Monday. They were charged with unlawful killing of a police dog, among other charges, including attempted murder, malicious injury to personal property over $10,000, charges related to possession of a weapon, and possession of a stolen vehicle.
A third teen is still wanted.
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