A tan Chihuahua that was the topic of an argument that led to its owner being shot at a Haight Street market earlier this month died Friday when it was run over by a car, a San Francisco police captain said today.
The owner of the dog, which was named Gizmo, was shot inside Fred’s New Lite Market near the intersection of Haight Street and Masonic Avenue at about 1:15 p.m. on Feb. 9, police said.
The victim and suspect Sam Kazzouh, 43, an employee at the store and the alleged shooter, argued over Gizmo, according to court records.
The dog, which was uninjured in the shooting and was seen wearing a small sweater afterward, was being cared for by a friend of the victim, who remains hospitalized, police Capt. Denis O’Leary said.
However, Gizmo met a tragic end at about 1:25 p.m. Friday when the dog was run over by a vehicle in the intersection of Haight Street and Masonic Avenue, near the scene of the shooting, O’Leary said.
The incident started about an hour earlier and a block away at Masonic Avenue and Page Street, where police officers responded to reports of threats made by three suspects, O’Leary said.
Officers stopped three men matching the description of the suspects. In the course of detaining the men, “a crowd gathered and a commotion began,” O’Leary said.
During the commotion, the man caring for Gizmo let go of the dog, which ran into the nearby intersection and was struck by a car, O’Leary said.
“It’s a sad story,” he said.
Kazzouh, the alleged shooter, was arraigned in San Francisco Superior Court last week and pleaded not guilty to charges of attempted murder, assault with a firearm, and discharge of a firearm in a grossly negligent manner.
The next hearing in the case is scheduled for March 3.
Photo of Gizmo: KTVU, via Haightertation
Dan McMenamin, Bay City News
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