Two people are dead and a police dog called "Earp" has been stabbed in what police are calling a domestic violence incident in Paradise Hills.
A woman who said her husband was threatening suicide called police to a home on 6400 Lockford Ave. at 8:48 a.m. Friday. When police arrived, they knocked on the door, but there was no response, Cpt. Jim Collins said.
"I saw 6 or 7 police at the door, weapons pointed at the door, yelling drop the knife, drop the knife," neighbor Michael Picardal said. Fearing that the woman’s life was being threatened, officers kicked in the door. A man covered in blood, holding a 10-inch blood stained knife, slammed the door on the officers.
As a diversionary tactic, several officers went to the back of the house and broke in through a window. Officers on the front side of the house went inside. The suspect charged the officers with a knife over his head. Officers fired and shot the suspect, Cpt. Collins said.
"The door opened, I guess the dog went in, 4 to 6 shots fired, done," Picardal said.
Officers found a woman, dead from stab wounds, inside the living room. A police dog, which had entered the home, was also stabbed. No officers were hurt in the incident.
Investigators said the couple was married for several years. They had four children together, one of whom lived with them. The 8-year-old child was at school at the time of the shooting.
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A neighbor called the family who live in the home “really nice people”.
“I’m in shock, this is shocking,” Steven Carson said. He says the couple had been having marital problems and had told their daughter that they would be getting a divorce.
The 8-year-old German Shepard suffered a significant stab wound to neck and lost a great deal of blood, Asst. Chief of Special Operations Cheryl Meyers said. "Earp" underwent a blood transfusion at an animal clinic on 28th and Main Street.
"We are keeping our fingers crossed and praying that our dog survives this incident," Meyers said. "The dog is a fighter and it looks like he's doing all he can to stay with us."
Earp's handler, Sgt. Jess Haven, is by the dog’s side. They have been partners for more than four years. Earp was due to retire in a couple of months.
