Excerpts from abc7chicago.com:
A Kenosha police dog that is being called a hero was welcomed home Sunday by an enthusiastic crowd after he took a bullet from a Chicago murder suspect last week.
The German Shepard K9, Riggs, was shot during a police confrontation with a man who allegedly killed two people in Chicago Thursday. Miraculously, he survived.
A procession from the animal hospital in Buffalo Grove, where Riggs was recovering, was welcomed by citizens, police officers, and the other K9s in Clausen Park Sunday.
Police said Thursday’s crime spree started when a 25-year-old man was shot and killed at a bus stop in the Hermosa neighborhood. Then, just a block away, the same suspect allegedly shot and killed 41-year-old Miguel Padilla Junior during a struggle. Police said the shooter stole Padilla’s car.
Chicago police tipped off Kenosha County deputies that a suspect driving the murder victim’s vehicle was at the Benson Corners gas station off of Highway 50 in Bristol. As deputies confronted him, the man ran off while holding a gun. That’s when Riggs leapt after the man and took him down as he was approaching the nearby highway. The man then shot Riggs once in the forehead. Riggs, who has spent five years on the force, is expected to recover. At least two deputies then fired on the suspect striking him in the abdomen and leg.
Larry Shapiro photo
