Illinois police dog killed in Cook County shooting

A brave police dog was killed in a shootout between officers and a suspected auto thief in a suburb of Chicago on Wednesday afternoon.

The slain K9 officer named Hudson was hailed as a hero after the 2 p.m. shooting that also killed the suspect.

“We have a very large K9 unit, the largest outside of Cook County, and it’s a very tight-knit family,” Kane County Sheriff Ron Hain said during the news conference, adding. “This is a great loss for us. He was a great dog.”

The suspect in the car theft opened fire after crashing the vehicle at an intersection during a police pursuit, authorities said.

As he got out of the car with a pistol, the police dog attacked and bit him, Hain said.

The dog was shot in a shootout between officials and the unidentified man, Hain said.

The suspect’s name and age were not released Wednesday.

The dog was named after a fallen Illinois state police officer and was a member of the drug detection unit, Hain said.

Later Wednesday, the body of K9 Hudson made its final approach to the sheriff’s office while police officers and other police dogs saluted the killed dog.

“This is a great loss for us but he is an absolute hero today along with our deputies who brought this to a successful conclusion without innocent civilians being harmed,” Hain said.

With post wires