By Kim Minugh and Bill Lindelof
kminugh@sacbee.com
Video Caption:Sacramento Police Officer Andrew Pettit delivers information on the shooting.
A Chico man is dead and a Sacramento police canine recovering after shots were fired in the Land Park neighborhood this morning.
The incident, which began about 10:30 a.m., prompted a precautionary lockdown at Crocker-Riverside Elementary on Riverside Boulevard. The lockdown has since been lifted, and students will be let out at the usual time unless a parent requests his or her child to be released early.
The name of the suspect who allegedly shot the police dog and then was fatally shot by the dog's officer has not been released. However, police have identified him as a white man in his 30s from Chico.
Police have the man's alleged accomplice, a woman in her 20s also from Chico, in custody, said Sgt. Andrew Pettit.
The ordeal began when officers tried to pull over a car that had been reported stolen, and the driver failed to yield, Pettit said. A pursuit ensued, but was called off after police feared it was getting too dangerous - the driver nearly hit several young children while fleeing from officers, Pettit said.
A description of the suspects and the stolen vehicle was broadcast to other officers, and officers spotted the vehicle near California Middle School. They also saw two people that matched the suspect descriptions walking away from the car, Pettit said.
When officers tried to make contact with the two people, they ran, and officers pursued on foot. At one point, the male suspect turned and fired at a police dog pursuing him, hitting him in the face and paw.
Fearing for his life and the safety of others, Pettit said, the officer returned fire, striking the suspect. The officer then picked up the dog, a German Shepherd named Bodie, and carried him to a patrol car.
The SWAT team was called out to try and make contact with the suspect, who was lying in a backyard at Robertson Way and Riverside Boulevard. Police believed the suspect to be injured, but had to take precautions because they believed him to be armed, Pettit said.
Eventually, paramedics were able to examine the suspect, and he was pronounced dead, Pettit said.
The female suspect, who has not yet been identified, was arrested. Nobody else was harmed.
Morning kindergarteners were released to anxiously waiting parents at about noon. Afternoon kindergarten classes were cancelled, but the school's annual fundraiser, the Spring Jubilee, is still going on tonight as planned.
Bodie, the police dog, is expected to survive.
Call The Bee's Kim Minugh, (916) 321-1038. Follow her on Twitter @Kim_Minugh.
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