A State Police K-Nine unit is dead after being shot by a suspect in Fitchburg, Massachusetts.
The police dog Frankie was involved in an effort to arrest a wanted fugitive who was barricaded in a home on Oliver Street when he was shot.
Suspect Matthew Mack apparently shot Frankie in the backyard after briefly exiting the home, and he died at a nearby animal hospital.
State Police Colonel Christopher Mason says it is a loss the entire department is feeling. In a statement he says:
"Frankie was a Belgian Malinois. He would have turned 11 years old next month. He was a member of our Department for about nine years.
Frankie was a highly decorated member of the Massachusetts State Police. In 2017, he and Sergeant Stucenski were awarded the Medal of Valor at the state’s annual George L. Hanna Awards for Bravery, the state’s top law enforcement award ceremony."
Officers later used a drone to look into the home and saw Mack, who had died from what police say was a self inflicted gunshot wound. Troopers never fired their weapons.
The investigation is continuing.
(Photo Credit: Massachusetts State Police)
1 of 2 2 of 2