ALTON, Ill. — “Dispatch, I’m hit, I’m hit,” a frantic Officer Allen Averbeck said over a scanner transmission just after 6 a.m. Thursday. “Dispatch, my dog is hit as well. My dog’s down.”
The Alton police officer had just been injured in a shootout that also took the lives of the suspect and Averbeck's K-9 partner, Odin.
The shooting happened near the intersection of Liberty and East 6th streets in Alton.
Illinois State Police said Averbeck was taken to an area hospital for treatment and the K-9, Odin, was taken to a veterinary facility for critical injuries, where he later died.
ISP on Friday identified the suspect who died as 27-year-old Vernon Randle Jr. of Alton.
It's unclear what led up to the shooting.
At a news conference Thursday afternoon, Mayor David Goins said they are not looking for any other suspects.
A woman was injured in a random shooting near the same area Wednesday night. Goins said he could not confirm whether it was connected with Thursday's shooting.
Goins said Averbeck was released from the hospital and resting at home. He said the officer is mourning the tragic loss of his beloved K-9.
Police K-9 units from around the area formed a procession for Odin Thursday as his body was escorted from Hawthorne Animal Hospital in Glen Carbon to Gent's Funeral Home in Alton.
"It's a very tough loss because the K-9 officer and his partner developed a bond that is unbreakable and unshakable. But they also developed a bond with the family because this K-9 goes home with this officer every day and really becomes part of that officer's family," Goins said.
Goins said Odin had only been a K-9 for two months. He joined the department earlier this year, attended the K-9 academy in February and graduated in May.
While it's only been a few months working together, Goins said Averbeck and Odin were extremely close.
"The loss of Odin is not just a loss of a service animal, but of a loyal companion and a trusted team member," Goins said.
The shooting was a wake-up call neighbors did not expect.
One neighbor, William Sprague, said he heard several shots and ran up to his three kids' bedrooms to get them down on the floor, then called police.
"We immediately looked out the window to make sure that there was nothing right up on our door, and we were able to see, kind of the last moment of officers slowly approaching. So we did see, unfortunately, the end of it," Sprague said.
Sprague said this is about the fourth shooting they've seen on their city block in roughly four years, but it's not a true representation of the neighborhood.
"This community is suffering right now. We're suffering, and unfortunately, this is becoming an all too common occurrence that our police department is having to deal with, that our residents are having to deal with, and we're begging for something to be done, and it kind of feels like it's falling on deaf ears," Sprague said.
Another neighbor, Larry Booher, said something woke him up after 4 a.m. and he looked outside to see police with flashlights running up and down the road.
Booher said later when he went out to feed the neighborhood cats and get the paper, bullets started flying.
"So I heard nine to 10 shots. And Mary, my wife, who's in the house, said she looked out this second story bedroom window and saw that somebody was down over in the lot, over here, and then we started hear the helicopters and the sirens all that," Booher said.
Both neighbors said the community is strong and will rally around the police department.
There were at least 20 or more evidence markers on scene with plenty of investigators getting statements from neighbors.
A neighbor, Leann Swain told 5 On Your Side that she and her five children were inside their home getting ready for school when they heard police in her backyard looking for someone.
She said she heard the police officer tell the person "not to move or the dog would bite them."
"I had windows open and I let the cool air in and my kids were all sleeping (when it happened)," Swain said. "Bullets don't have eyes. They go where they want to go, I'm kind of curious on why (police and the suspect) ran to my house. Other than that, I don't know what to ask, you know it's not an everyday situation that you get woken up to."
Swain said she and her children had to duck when they started hearing gunfire.
On Friday morning, 5 On Your Side crews saw flags half-staff and a small memorial of flowers for K-9 Odin at the front of the Alton Police Department.
Alton Police say many people have reached out with questions about how to donate to their K-9 program.
There are only two ways to officially donate to the K9 program.
The first way is by check made payable to the Alton Police Department K-9 Program.
The second way to donate is through Mustache March 4 PD (MM4PD) via their Venmo (@MM4PD) and Paypal (@MM4PD) accounts and provide them to the K9 program.
All donations go towards funding the various expenses associated with the K9 program such as purchasing a new dog, vests, training, etc.
ISP is handling the ongoing investigation.