GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. — A Gwinnett County police K9 died in the line of duty and a Stone Mountain suspect was killed during a shootout on Thursday, Sept. 10, in Georgia.
The fatal encounter began when Gwinnett County Police officers investigating gang activity discovered a stolen vehicle with two occupants. When an officer tried to make contact with the occupants, they fled in two different directions, Loganville-Grayson Patch reported.
Soon thereafter, Gwinnett County SWAT officers and K9 Blue began searching the woods nearby. According to a statement from the Gwinnett County Police Department, K9 Blue located items from the suspect and tracked him down.
A statement from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation identified the suspect as Robert Samuel Craig Lusk, 18, of Stone Mountain.
When Lusk was given commands by police, the statement said, he fired at them. As a result, officers returned fire. During the shootout, Lusk and K9 Blue were shot. Both died from their injuries after being taken to area hospitals.
Blue was the first K9 assigned full-time to Gwinnett County’s SWAT team, according to Cpl. Collin Flynn of the Gwinnett County Police Department.
“He was five years old and bravely served the citizens of Gwinnett County in the police department for over a year,” Flynn said.
A female suspect who also fled from the stolen vehicle was sought, but not located on the day of the shooting.
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