A large celebration took place in southeastern Wisconsin Sunday as hundreds turned out to welcome home and honor Riggs, a Kenosha County Sheriff's Department K-9 shot by a Chicago murder suspect earlier in the week.
Neighbors, law enforcement officers and other K-9s stood by as Sheriff's Deputy Terry Tifft, drove up with his partner who the deputy says saved his life.
"He's family. He's always been [family]. And you can see he's a sweet dog. And he did his job and he saved my life," Tifft told WTMJ, the NBC affiliate in Milwaukee.
The shooting unfolded Thursday when Kenosha County sheriff's deputies were called to a gas station in the town of Bristol regarding a vehicle that was believed to have been involved in a Chicago homicide.
Officers attempted a traffic stop, but the suspect refused to stop and eventually fled on foot. At that point, sheriff's deputies deployed Riggs, police said.
The K-9 took the suspect to the ground, and then, the suspect opened fire, striking Riggs in the forehead. Responding officers returned fire, shooting at the suspect multiple times.
Riggs was taken into surgery at an emergency animal hospital in Illinois, sheriff's authorities said.
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The bullet entered the top of his head and exited out the back, bruising the skull but not fracturing it or hitting any vital parts.
"It is a miracle, it's a great miracle," said Tifft.
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Tifft says Rigg's health will be evaluated over the coming months.
