The Davie Police Department said it arrested a man on felony cruelty to animals charges after he killed the 8-month-old puppy of an 8-year-old girl with a high-powered scoped pellet rifle.
Police responded at about 6:30 p.m. Saturday to the Centro at Davie apartments located at 2800 SW 73 Way. The initial call reported two males shot a dog with a "sniper rifle."
When officers arrived, they met with numerous people outside of an apartment building. They also spoke with the mother of the girl whose dog was killed.
The mom, who was walking the dog named Princess with her boyfriend by a lake, was "covered in blood and holding a small limp brown and white dog in her arms," according to an arrest report.
The family just moved into the area from out of state the day before Princess was killed.
The mother told police she heard a "pop" while walking. She and her boyfriend stopped to look around and saw Princess bleeding from the mouth. She thought Princess ate something.
At this time, an off-duty Pembroke Pines Police Department officer and his brother were driving toward the apartment building. The officer saw two men on a balcony run into an apartment – one of whom he believed was carrying a black scoped rifle, according to the report.
The officer saw the dog covered in blood. He told the mother that someone in the balcony shot Princess.
The off-duty officer then watched the front door of the suspect apartment until officers arrived.
According to police, 19-year-old Johansen Concepcion De La Rosa saw the small dog on a path near the lake and grabbed the pellet rifle his friend brought.
"He took a knee, lined up the crosshairs, and took a shot killing the little dog," the Davie Police Department said in a Facebook post.
During a police interview, the suspect said he was aiming and shooting the gun toward the lake when the couple walked into the firing path.
"He stated it was an accident and he didn't mean to shoot the dog," the arrest report reads.
Princess was taken to an animal hospital, where veterinarians determined the pellet traveled through her chest – killing her.
The friend told police that Concepcion De La Rosa told him he was "going to shoot the dog" as he appeared to point at the direction of the couple walking the dog. The friend said that "freaked him out."
Concepcion De La Rosa was booked at the Broward County Main Jail on a charge of causing cruel death, pain and suffering to an animal.
