Off-Duty U.S. Secret Service Agent Fatally Shoots Dog in Brooklyn Neighborhood: Report
The U.S. Secret Service has confirmed that an off-duty agent fatally shot a dog in Brooklyn, New York, on Monday night, according to several reports.
“An off-duty Secret Service employee was involved in the shooting of an unrestrained and aggressive canine in Brooklyn, NY yesterday,” a spokesperson from the federal agency told NBC, CNN and the New York Times on Tuesday.
The U.S. Secret Service did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
According to reports, the incident occurred around 9:45 p.m. on the corner of E. 8th St. and Caton Place in Windsor Terrace, a residential neighborhood in New York. Police confirmed to CNN that they responded to a report of gunshots in the area.
The New York Police Department declined to comment when reached by PEOPLE, referring questions to the Secret Service.
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Sgt. Mary Frances O’Donnell, a police spokeswoman, told the Times that the unidentified agent fatally shot the dog after it allegedly “charged” him.
“The dog charged him,” Sergeant O’Donnell said. “He let one round go. He killed the dog.”
The New York Daily News published a photo of the dog, which the outlet identified as a female Belgian Shepherd named Bambi, under a sheet at the scene. According to the outlet, the Secret Service had initially stated that the dog had been “unleashed,” however, on Tuesday, they said that the dog was leashed but “unsecured from its owner.”
In the image, a leash can be seen lying next to the dog.
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“She scared a cop who was walking home,” the dog’s owner, who was not identified, told The Daily News. “He shot her and she’s dead.”
Walker Blankinship was outside when the shooting occurred, telling the Times he heard a group of people arguing.
“I heard the gunshot, and then I heard a guy arguing, cursing and carrying on,” he told the outlet on Tuesday. “I just thought it was local people having an argument.”
“I can’t think of any dog that is so menacing that I feel I would need to have a firearm to protect myself,” Blankinship, 51, added.
As of Wednesday, authorities have not released the agent’s identity and it is unclear what his position is within the Secret Service.
