MARION COUNTY, Fla. — K9 Leo, a 4-year-old Belgian Sheppard, was trained at the Marion County Sheriff’s office and joined the force in 2021. He was shot Saturday morning when a call for a domestic violence case took a turn.
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“The suspect was accused of strangling someone. We were following on that case to make an arrest, when we did, he met those deputies with a firearm, unfortunately,” said Paul Bloom, with the Marion County Sheriff’s Office.
The man was identified as 44-year-old Jeremy Bradsher.
So far, it is not clear what the connection between the suspect and the victim is.
Read: Suspect dead, K9 injured in Marion County deputy-involved shooting, sheriff’s office says
Investigators said when they arrived, Bradsher began shooting at them, and that’s when Leo was hit.
“The K9 was just trying to do what he is trained to do, which is protect the deputies with everything he had,” said Bloom. “He was wearing a bulletproof vest, but he was shot in an area that was not covered.”
On Monday, Marion County Sheriff Billy Woods shared a message on social media thanking the community for their support of Leo.
The deputy involved in the shooting is now on leave as the investigation unfolds with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, which is standard procedure.
“He’s like a family member,” said Bloom. “Even the vest he was wearing was donated by the community. He is a part of us, and we sure felt a strong outpouring of support and love from the community.”
A new Florida law allows emergency personnel to be trained to respond in case a K9 gets hurt in the line of duty for the county’s fire rescue, which saved the dog’s life.
Read: Deputies identify victim killed in Orange County shooting
“With the passing of the bill, that enabled for emergency medical personnel the ability to transport K9s that are injured in the line of duty,” said James Lucas, with the Marion County Fire Rescue. “They assisted with that, on the back of the rescue, all the way to Gainesville. We don’t like to see them in pain, and we don’t like to see the K9s in pain, so we want to take care of them in any way possible.”
For Silver Spring residents, the violence and gunfire were a break from their normal peace and quiet.
“It’s scary because all my businesses and everything here,” said Roger Sham, who’s lived in the neighborhood for more than 20 years. “I hope this is the end of the shooting, otherwise, I will have to move from here. It’s getting bad.”
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