HIALEAH, Fla. – After a shooting left a gunman dead and a police officer and three others injured, an officer found a puppy shaking and bleeding.
Julio Mederos, 59, was targeting his ex-girlfriend at an apartment. He shot her, her new 51-year-old boyfriend, her 31-year-old daughter, and the puppy named Denver.
The gunman held his ex-girlfriend and their nine-year-old boy son hostage. Officers rescued the boy, who wasn’t wounded. During the standoff, the officers said they were forced to shoot and kill his dad to make sure his mother survived.
Hialeah Police Sergio Velazquez said Denver was shot in the leg and had to undergo surgery at Hollywood Animal Hospital. On Thursday, Denver returned to his owner’s arms. The puppy had a cone around his neck and two legs in casts.