Lady Gaga’s dog walker was shot and two of the singer’s French bulldogs were stolen in Hollywood during an armed robbery, police said. The dog walker was shot once Wednesday night and is expected to survive his injuries, according to Los Angeles Police Captain Jonathan Tippett, commanding officer of the department’s elite Robbery-Homicide Division.
The man was walking three of Lady Gaga’s dogs at the time but one escaped. Tippett told The Associated Press that the dogs belong to the pop star. It’s not yet clear if the dog walker was targeted because of his celebrity client, the captain said.
Lady Gaga is offering a $500,000 reward for the dogs’ safe return, a spokesperson for her confirmed to CBS News. The singer is currently in Italy shooting the film “Gucci.”
Police were initially called to North Sierra Bonita Avenue around 9:40 p.m. Wednesday following several 911 calls reporting a man screaming and the sound of a gunshot, said Captain Steven Lurie, commanding officer of the department’s Hollywood Division.
The victim, whose name has not been released, was walking the dogs on a street off the famed Sunset Boulevard when a four-door sedan pulled over and two men tried to steal the animals, Tippett said.
The dog walker tried to fight them off and was shot by one of the men wielding a semiautomatic handgun during the struggle.
CBS Los Angeles reports the two stolen dogs are named Gustave and Koji. According to ET, Lady Gaga’s third dog, Asia, escaped and was later found safe. The pop star’s dogs have their own verified Instagram page.
