A man walking his dog allegedly shot his neighbor’s canine that was also being walked by its owners including a 10-year-old girl.
John Fazzini, 61, of Illinois, is accused of shooting an 8-year-old German shepherd mix that his dog started barking at from across the street. Fazzini’s pup barked as the other dog, named Jameson, walked by, according to Aurora police and DuPage County prosecutors.
Jameson wiggled out of his harness and approached Fazzini and his dog, then ran in circles around them and approached them, cops said.
With about a four-foot distance between them, Fazzini brandished a gun and shot Jameson in the head and then fled, DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin stated.
‘It is alleged that without provocation Mr Fazzini pulled out a loaded handgun and shot a family pet just feet away from family members, including a 10-year-old girl,’ Berlin said.
‘These allegations are simply unconscionable.’
The bullet stuck Jameson on the right side of his nose and went out his left ear. The dog was rushed to a hospital and survived. Jameson is now recovering.
‘Not quite Jamo yet, but he’s alive,’ his owner Megan Peterman told . ‘His personality comes back a little bit more every day… An inch one way or the other, he wouldn’t be here.’
Peterman’s partner, Zack Zeciroski, said he and his daughter were 12 feet away from Fazzini and his dog when he stopped to let Fazzini go further down the street. Zeciroski added that Fizzini’s dog was off-leash.
Jameson was not a threat to Fazzini or his smaller dog, according to Zeciroski and Peterman.
‘All he cared about was that there was a little dog to play with,’ Peterman said.
Fazzini was arrested on Tuesday in connection with the March 10 shooting. He has been charged with aggravated cruelty to animals, reckless discharge of a firearm and criminal damage to property. In his court appearance on Wednesday, a judge set his bond at $100,000. Fazzini was released from custody later on Wednesday. His next court date is May 4.
‘We just ask that justice takes his course and (Fazzini) gets what he’s got coming to him,’ Zeciroski told WMAQ.
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