VIRGINIA BEACH — Teenagers are facing felony charges after they allegedly broke into a Virginia Beach police officer’s house and shot the family dog, officials say.
Police believe four people worked together to break into Virginia Beach Police Department Officer J. Scurry’s home near Gravenhurst Drive around 7:30 p.m. on Sunday with the intent of burglarizing it.
The would-be burglars were stopped by the family pit bull, Zulu, who was shot as he chased the suspects out of the home.
Charged are 18-year-old Lundon Lamar Starke, of Virginia Beach and a 17-year-old, who police have not named.
Starke is charged with conspiracy to commit a felony, coming into a home with the intent to commit a felony, shooting in a public place and animal cruelty in connection to the attempted burglary, according to the General District Court Online Case Information System.
Starke is also charged with possession of a gun by a non-violent felony and receiving or buying stolen goods for an incident that allegedly occurred on Tuesday, according to CIS.
The 17-year-old was charged with armed burglary, conspiracy and animal cruelty, said VBPD spokeswoman Linda Kuehn.
Kuehn added that charges are pending against two other juveniles who police believe were involved in the crime.
A GoFundMe page has raised more than $7,300 for Zulu’s medical care at Blue Pearl Vet Hospital in Virginia Beach
“Zulu did what he was trained to do, and defended his family by confronting the suspects,” the GoFundMe page reads. “Unfortunately, as Zulu was defending his family in their own home, one of the suspects fired two shots, both of which struck Zulu.”
Kuehn said that Zulu is doing well and will hopefully be released back to his family soon.
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