Burbank police dog shot near 5 Freeway during traffic stop; suspect search underway

A massive investigation following the shooting of a police dog closed part of the northbound 5 Freeway near Buena Vista Street in Burbank Saturday evening.

The Burbank Police Department said they are conducting an investigation in the 2400 block of Buena Vista Street and surrounding neighborhoods looking for a suspect responsible for shooting one of their dogs.

Police are asking the public to stay indoors and avoid the area.

Burbank police said officers conducted a traffic stop in the 2400 block of Buena Vista Street, near the northbound I-5 on-ramp, around 6:40 p.m., when an armed passenger fled from that car and ran onto the freeway on-ramp.

The suspect “jumped over the highway embankment wall into a nearby residential neighborhood…during the search, the dog located the suspect. The suspect fired several rounds, striking the dog, before fleeing on foot,” Burbank police said in a statement.

Officers transported the dog for treatment, police said.

A SigAlert was issued around 11 p.m., closing all northbound lanes of the 5 Freeway at Burbank Boulevard until further notice, the California Highway Patrol said.

Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to contact the Burbank Police Department Investigations Division at (818) 238-3210.