Stabbed police dog ‘feeling better,’ man faces 5 felony charges

Thurman Lowe was booked into the Clark County Detention Center on two counts of assault on a protected person and one count each of attempting to kill a police animal, arson and resisting police while armed, records show.

Police said Friday that the 64-year-old suspect, who suffered self-inflicted stab injuries, was hospitalized at University Medical Center in “critical but stable condition.”

Lowe also is being held on an out-of-state warrant, according to jail and Las Vegas Justice Court records, which noted that he did not appear in front of a judge Saturday due to his medical state.

Officers responded at 1:08 p.m. to a call about a man said to be suicidal at an apartment complex in the 1200 block of Las Vegas Boulevard South, near Charleston Boulevard, the Metropolitan Police Department said.

Police said the man, who was armed with a knife, started a fire and barricaded himself in an apartment.

Officers with SWAT and K-9 units and negotiators were summoned, police said.

But shortly after SWAT and the police dog handlers showed up, the man exited the apartment, police said.

“He quickly closed the distance on officers who deployed less-lethal options including” the Belgian Malinois identified as Enzo, police wrote in a news release.

The dog bit the man, who stabbed the canine, police said.

Police said the 2-year-old dog was flown to a veterinary hospital, and was expected to recover.

The dog has been with the department for nearly a year, police said.

In a social media post Saturday that included a photo of the dog on the lap of an officer, police wrote that “Enzo is feeling better today.”

“Thanks again to all the skilled veterinarians who have been taking care of Enzo,” the post continued. “Thanks to VCA Decatur and Veterinary Emergency + Critical Care.”

Lowe is next due in court Tuesday.

Contact Ricardo Torres-Cortez at rtorres@reviewjournal.com.