Illinois Cop Shoots 6-Year-Old Girl’s Dog In The Head As She Watches

On Friday, July 25 one little girl’s world was turned upside down. According to Raw Story, the six-year-old girl witnessed the fatal shooting death of her dog. The animal was reportedly shot in the head by a police officer with the Hometown Police Department.

Nicole Echlin, the girl’s mother and dog owner, explained that Apollo, their 16-month-old German Shepard mix, had run out of the house on Friday. She and her daughter had just returned home as the police officers were arriving. She recounted the dog’s gruesome death in graphic detail.

“We were in the lawn and the cop already had his gun out,” Echlin explained to WMAQ. “I tried to call him in the house and he just stood there staring and I guess he showed his teeth and the cop just shot him, right in front of me and my 6-year-old daughter.” Her daughter immediately began screaming.

“That’s going to be in her head probably forever,” Echlin said.

So, why did the officer shoot the dog? The question has yet to be answered, and the cop’s actions still haven’t been explained. As a matter of fact, several media outlets have reported the cop had actually arrived at the wrong house.

Now, Echlin and her neighbors want answers. Several neighbors who witnessed the dog’s horrific death made it clear that it had done nothing to make the officer feel threatened in any way. As a matter of fact, most agreed that the dog wasn’t doing anything at all. Nicco Torres, Echlin’s neighbor recounted the shocking incident during a brief news interview.

“The dog wasn’t doing anything. I didn’t see it doing anything, it wasn’t barking,” Torres recalled. “Then I saw a cop shoot the dog, the dog fell to ground on the lawn. I saw through the window the dog was on the floor shot but the dog was still moving, it was moving its legs like it was trying to run but it was laying down.”

The Hometown Police Department has also released an official statement via Facebook. Chief Charles Forsyth explained that he could not make any accusations without reviewing the series of events that led to the dog’s fatal shooting. However, he did promise a “full investigation” would be conducted.

“It would be too early for me to make any statement without reviewing all the facts,” Forsyth said. “I can assure the people of Hometown that a full investigation of the incident will be conducted.”

The dog died on Saturday, July 26 after receiving treatment at the Animal Welfare League in Chicago Ridge.

[Image via Bing]