K9 Riggs and Deputy Tifft. | Kenosha County sheriff’s office
Riggs was shot last week as Kenosha County deputies responded to a gas station after being tipped off that a murder suspect was driving the victim’s car in the area.
A police dog hailed as a hero for taking a bullet from a Chicago murder suspect last week has been released from a hospital and was expected to make a full recovery.
K9 Riggs was released Sunday from a hospital in Buffalo Grove where he was treated for a gunshot wound to the forehead, the Kenosha County sheriff’s department said in a statement.
Riggs “walked out of the vet hospital on his own,” the office said.
Riggs was shot Oct. 21 as deputies responded to the Benson Corners gas station in Bristol after being tipped off by Chicago police that a murder suspect was driving the victim’s car in the area, officials said.
As deputies confronted the man, he ran off while holding a gun but Riggs took him down as he was approaching a nearby highway, officials said. The man opened fire and hit Riggs once in the forehead.
Deputies fired at the man, striking him in the abdomen and leg. He remains hospitalized after undergoing surgery, officials said.
Police have not said what murder in Chicago the car was connected to. No charges have been filed.
Residents have shown an outpouring of support for Riggs and several have started raising money online for him and the K9 program, officials said. But the sheriff’s department is warning residents of possible scams.
Anyone who wants to donate to the program was asked to mail a check to the Kenosha County sheriff’s department.