Veterinarians amputate dog’s leg as part of recovery after shooting in Brooklyn Park

By Barry Simms

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    BROOKLYN PARK, Maryland (WBAL) — Veterinarians amputated the left hind leg of Raven, the 9-month-old puppy who, along with her owner, was shot Sunday night in Brooklyn Park.

Raven’s owner got to spend some precious moments with her at the Spay Now Animal Surgery Center in Laurel before the puppy underwent surgery.

“I’m very sad it happened to my puppy and (me),” she told 11 News. “Before I ran, I turned to see where the gunshots were coming from, and it was a guy. He just wouldn’t stop shooting. It was very scary.”

Both the owner, whose name 11 News is not disclosing, and Raven were shot Sunday at the Brooklyn Park Plaza.

Anne Arundel County police are searching for the gunman, who they said fired multiple shots into a group of people — one bullet struck the leg of Raven’s owner, and another hit Raven’s left hind leg. The owner was treated at a hospital and released.

“I stopped to talk to two friends to say hi, and they were petting Raven and I heard a ‘boom, boom, boom, boom, boom.’ I turned around, I felt something burning in my leg. I grabbed my pup and ran toward my husband and my son,” the owner told 11 News.

Izzy White, founder of Izzy’s Angels, a nonprofit organization that helps the homeless, took the dog to get emergency help. To save the dog, a veterinarian decided to amputate Raven’s injured leg.

“The dog is a really sweet dog,” White told 11 News. “I got to know the dog and it’s got it’s own personality, and I couldn’t imagine letting that personality pass away like that.”

Video below: Victim’s husband recounts scene of shooting

Raven should be able to return home on Wednesday.

“Raven is the brightest light, as well as my children are, in my life. She’s very special to me,” the owner told 11 News.

White said he has paid the vet bill, which has reached several thousand dollars so far. He knows others have asked about making donations.

“If you generally want to help, if you see a stray dog, feed it. If you see a homeless person, feed him. That’s the way I can say you can help somebody,” White told 11 News.

Victim’s husband recounts moments before shooting Lonnie Straughn, the victim’s husband, on Monday told 11 News what happened in the moments before the shooting.

“My son and I were eating over here at the McDonald’s around the corner, waiting for my wife, and we heard gunshots over here at the H&R Block. We looked over and we seen somebody shooting a gun and then run around the corner. We were like, ‘Oh wow, can’t believe this happened.’ Then, my wife started running across the parking lot, saying, ‘I’ve been shot, I’ve been shot. Lonnie, I’ve been shot,'” Straughn told 11 News.

Straughn told 11 News his wife was shot in the leg and is in much pain.

“I looked at the dog, and there’s blood everywhere from the dog. That’s her baby. She loves the dog more than me,” Straughn told 11 News.

Investigators are talking to witnesses and business owners to try to learn more about the person who fired the shots. Police said the shooter was last seen wearing a gray jacket, a blue hooded sweatshirt and black pants.

“They were wearing all-dark clothing and the victim just described (the person) as a subject with a firearm. They didn’t say race or gender. It was 6 p.m., so it was dark outside, and we’re not sure of the proximity of the shooting suspect to the victim,” Anne Arundel County police Cpl. Chris Anderson told 11 News on Monday.

Two nearby parked vehicles were also struck by projectiles, police said.

Investigators said they’re not sure about a motive for the shooting or whether it was random.

“We don’t have any information to indicate either. We don’t have any information to indicate the victim knew the suspect, the suspect knew the victim or if the victim was the intended target,” Anderson said.

They’re also trying to determine the type of weapon used.

“We believe it was a semiautomatic handgun due to the volume of rounds that were fired,” Anderson said. “A revolver isn’t capable of firing that number of rounds without being reloaded. So, we do believe it was a semiautomatic.”

Anyone with information is asked to call police at 410-222-6135 or the Anne Arundel County Police Tip Line at 410-222-4700.

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