WELLINGTON, Fla. (AP) - A K9 with the Palm Beach Sheriff's Office died Christmas Eve after an officer-involved shooting at a South Florida mall.
K9 Cigo was shot at Mall at Wellington Green, according to a tweet from the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office. The suspect was also shot and taken into custody, according to the sheriff's office.
The incident started after deputies received a tip that two suspects wanted in a prior shooting were at the mall. Officers planned to arrest the suspects in the mall's parking lot, but shots rang out and one suspect shot K9 Cigo.
That suspect was taken to a hospital with a gunshot wound, another suspect was taken to jail, and a third suspect is at large, deputies say.
Cigo was treated at a veterinarian emergency center but later died of his injuries.
Just after 8 p.m., the sheriff's office tweeted, "Our hearts are truly broken after a suspect shot and killed our K9 Dog tonight, on Christmas Eve."
The sheriff's office says the mall was locked down as deputies investigated the shooting.