8-year-old girl's puppy killed by pellet gun sniper, Florida police say

DAVIE, Fla. — A South Florida man is accused of killing a puppy with a pellet rifle as he stood on a balcony Saturday night, the Sun-Sentinel reported.

Johansen Concepcion De La Ros, 19, was arrested on charges of animal cruelty and was taken to the Broward County Main Jail, the newspaper reported. If convicted, De La Ros faces a five-year prison term and up to a $10,000 fine.

Roshelle Pearson was walking Princess, the 6-month-old Chihuahua puppy she bought for her 8-year-old daughter, around 6:30 p.m. Saturday in Davie when she said she heard a popping noise.

"We heard the pop, but it didn't register that someone had shot the dog," Pearson told the Sun-Sentinel. "There was blood in her mouth and my boyfriend asked what she ate. I held her and talked to her."

The puppy was dead within five minutes, Pearson told the newspaper.

Man with pellet rifle shoots and kills puppy while her owners were taking her for a walk https://t.co/SJbp9rEzlk pic.twitter.com/8JjpQMT7CK
— South Florida Sun Sentinel (@SunSentinel) September 30, 2018

Just before the shooting, an off-duty police officer was driving toward the apartment complex and saw a man on a balcony with a scoped pellet rifle, authorities said. Miguel Osorio called 911 immediately, according to Davie Police Department spokesman Sgt. Mark Leone.

Police went to the apartment and questioned its owner, Daniel Alvarez, and De La Ros, the Sun-Sentinel reported. De La Ros told police the puppy walked into his line of fire as he was shooting toward a lake from the balcony, the newspaper reported.

The puppy was born around Valentine's Day, and Pearson bought it as a gift in April for her daughter, the Sun-Sentinel reported. Pearson and her daughter moved to South Florida from Wisconsin in the past week.

“She played with the dog the whole way here,” Pearson said.

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