A wounded police dog that ran off after being shot by a gunman also accused of killing a sheriff’s deputy in Arkansas Wednesday has been found alive, the Sebastian County Sheriff’s Office said.
The police dog, Kina, was found by a passerby inside a house that was under construction, the sheriff’s office said in a statement. The dog was shot twice after suspected gunman Billy Monroe Jones opened fire at officers who responded to a domestic disturbance call, authorities said.
Sheriff’s Col. Bill Cooper was killed, and Hackett Police Chief Darrell Spells was grazed in the head by a bullet, police said.
Cooper, a 15-year veteran of the sheriff’s department and a former Fort Smith police officer, was called a dedicated and well-liked officer who was nearing retirement.
The police dog was being treated by a veterinarian and was undergoing X-rays Friday, the sheriff’s office said in the statement.
"Thank you for everyones' [sic] prayers and kind words. We are extremely happy to have Kina back,” the sheriff’s office said.
Sebastian County Sheriff Bill Hollenbeck said the officers had no idea they were walking into a deadly situation when they responded to the domestic call, and another police official called it an "ambush."
Hollenbeck said Jones had been scheduled to appear in court on a petition to revoke a suspended sentence that day. "More information began to develop that Jones wanted to cause what was told to us as a 'ruckus,'" Hollenbeck said Wednesday.
Jones is being held at the Crawford County Detention Center, and is due to be arraigned Wednesday, NBC affiliate KNWA reported.
