Warning: Graphic footage. Viewer discretion advised.
An injured pitbull is currently in unknown condition after it was stabbed multiple times in Long Beach over the weekend, police confirmed Thursday.
It happened in the early morning hours of Saturday, Aug. 2, during a fight between the dog’s owner and a suspect who, as of Thursday morning, has only been identified as an adult male.
Graphic footage obtained by KTLA starts by showing a man armed with a knife walking toward two other men — one of whom is presumably the pitbull’s owner. As the armed man approaches and raises his hand holding the knife, the pitbull charges at him, seemingly out of the protection of the man or men behind it. This is when the suspect starts stabbing at the dog, appearing to hit it multiple times. The dog continues to fight back, barking and jumping at the suspect, possibly trying to bite him, until the other two men intervene.
The Long Beach Police Department said officers responded to a 2:23 a.m. report of a stabbing on the 300 block of Orange Avenue, an area located alongside Ben Franklin Classical Middle School — which was not in session and is currently out on summer break.
Once at the scene, the video provided by stringer service Traffic News Los Angeles shows officers standing around people cradling the bleeding pitbull, suffering from multiple stab wounds.
Police rendered medical aid to the dog at the scene before a community member took it to a local animal hospital for treatment. KTLA has reached out to Long Beach Animal Care Services inquiring about the dog’s current status.
LBPD’s preliminary investigation indicated that the dog’s owner was in a verbal fight with the suspect, which escalated when the suspect started stabbing the pitbull. Authorities did not immediately say whether the pitbull was attempting to protect its owner at the time.
The suspect fled before law enforcement got to the scene, and as of Thursday morning, no arrests had been reported in connection with this incident.
The investigation is ongoing, and LBPD encourages anyone with information regarding the incident to contact non-emergency dispatch at 562-435-6711.
Sam Bader and Vanessa Garcia contributed to this report.
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