Pair shoots and kills dog in La Mirada, then drives away

A man and woman are suspected of shooting and killing a small dog in an industrial area of La Mirada over the weekend, authorities said.

A warehouse worker cleaning forklifts on Sunday at 12:43 p.m. saw a white Jeep Grand Cherokee with black rims drive up in front of a building on 16450 Phoebe Avenue, said Detective Mark Christiansen with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Norwalk station.

The worker saw a man step out of the SUV driven by a woman, Christiansen said. He saw the man placed an object on the ground near a gutter, and then heard two gunshots. The man hopped back into the vehicle and the duo drove south on Phoebe Avenue and turned left on Firestone Boulevard.

As soon as the suspects left, the worker walked up to the object and realized it was actually a small brown terrier-mix dog, lying inside its bed with a pair of gunshot wounds. The canine died at the scene.

Investigators obtained surveillance footage from the nearby business and released a photo of the suspect’s vehicle.

If arrested, authorities expect to book the pair on suspicion of animal cruelty.