UPDATE: Keith Richardson died from his wounds at 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday.
Norfolk, Va. - Police were involved in a 7-hour barricade/standoff situation that spanned throughout the evening Sunday into early morning Monday.
It all happened just before 6 p.m. Sunday evening when police were called to the 1100 block of Land Street for a person with a weapon.
When they arrived, they were advised that a woman and her husband, 58-year-old Keith Richardson, were involved in a domestic disturbance and that Richardson was armed with a gun.
Norfolk Police Department mourning the loss of K-9 killed in the line of duty
After a preliminary investigation, four warrants, including abduction, robbery, use of a firearm in commission of a felony, and brandishing of a firearm were secured for Richardson based upon the domestic disturbance.
According to Officer Daniel Hudson with Norfolk Police, the wife was able to escape and Richardson barricaded himself in the home alone.
Negotiators were called to the scene and after several hours of unsuccessful negotiations with Richardson, armed with a gun, exited his home.
After several verbal warnings to Richardson to drop the gun and surrender, Richardson opened fire and shot and killed a police dog, a member of the force named Krijger.
After killing K-9 Krijger, a member of the Special Operations Team shot Richardson. A second K-9 officer was released and partially restrained Richardson until Special Operation Team members were able to take him into custody at approximately 1:30 a.m.
Richardson was taken to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital with serious injuries.
K-9 Krijger was taken to an area veterinarian, where he died from his injuries.
"Krijger was a dedicated and loyal member of the K-9 Unit and will be missed by his handler and the men and women of the Norfolk Police Department," Corporal Melinda Wray said.
Norfolk's Police Chief also spoke exclusively to NewsChannel 3 about the loss.
"This is about as bad as it gets for a K-9 officer, to watch their partner go down in the line of duty," said Chief Goldsmith. "While he may not have raised his paw and swore and oath, he is still a part of our police family."
Gene Strickland, a neighbor who is also a friend of Richardson, says Richardson sold guns and did weapons training for a living. Strickland says he was talking to Richardson as everything unfolded.
"I was texting back and forth with him saying, you know, this is not going to end well for you. Please surrender, we're praying for you," said Gene Strickland.
Strickland says he watched as Richardson came out of his house in the moments leading up to police shooting him. He says he was an eyewitness to the entire incident and part of the details police provided appear to be incorrect.
“They had already shot him in the leg," Strickland said. "He was on the ground, the German Shepherd was eating him alive, so he took the gun to his left side and shot the dog.”
Norfolk police spokesperson, Cpl. Melinda Wray says the department stands by it's version of the story, however could not comment any more than that as there is both and administrative and criminal investigation ongoing.
