Daytona Beach, FL - A Volusia County Sheriff’s Office canine and his handler are being honored after he was shot in the neck while on duty 3 months ago.
Endo – a 4-year-old German Shepherd – will receive a Purple Heart and a Medal of Valor from his employer during a special ceremony Tuesday morning at the Deputy Stephen Saboda Training Center.
VCSO spokesman Gary Davidson says Endo’s handler – Deputy Brett Whitson – will also be honored on Tuesday by Sheriff Ben Johnson as the law enforcement agency’s Deputy of the Quarter.
“In addition, Sheriff Johnson will present the Outstanding Citizenship Award to the DeLand Animal Hospital for treating Endo’s bullet wound and helping him to make a full recovery,” Davidson added.
Endo and Whitson were called to the scene on Buttonwood Avenue in Deltona around 11 PM last November 8th after 39-year-old Marlon D. McCray reportedly shot his girlfriend in the arm during an argument.
According to the incident report, McCray’s 38-year-old girlfriend told him she wanted to break up and she ran and hid in a Chevrolet Malibu parked in the driveway after he threw a beer can and a computer.
Deputies believe McCray armed himself with a metal jack and came outside threatening to use it on the car and on his girlfriend before going back into the house, getting a gun and shooting her in the arm and abdomen. He then ran into a wooded area nearby, per VCSO.
It was while deputies and K-9 units were searching the woods when more shots were fired, with one of them hitting Endo in the neck, per Davidson.
“The bullet barely slowed him down,” Davidson added. “Even after being seriously wounded, Endo remained vigilant and poised and was willing to re-engage the armed, fleeing suspect to protect the lives of his fellow deputies.”
A Seminole County Sheriff’s Office helicopter that joined in the search eventually found McCray lying in a wooded area with a gun in his hand around 2 hours after the call for help came in.
Endo has returned to work following the shooting.
Photos above and below of Endo are courtesy of VCSO.
Copyright 2016 Southern Stone Communications.