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 singer is offering a $500,000 reward.
The man was walking three of Lady Gaga’s dogs at the time, but one escaped. That dog has been recovered safely.
Tippett told The Associated Press that the dogs belong to pop star Lady Gaga. It’s not yet clear if the dog walker was targeted because of his celebrity client, the captain said. Lady Gaga is offering the reward for the return of her dogs – whose names are Koji and Gustav – with no questions asked, according to her representative. An email address for tips, [email protected], has been set up. The singer is currently in Rome to film a movie.
Police were initially called to North Sierra Bonita Avenue, a street off the famed Sunset Boulevard, around 9:40 p.m. Wednesday following several 911 calls reporting a man screaming and the sound of a gunshot, said Capt. Steven Lurie, commanding officer of the department’s Hollywood Division.
The victim, whose name has not been released, was walking the dogs when a white Nissan Altima pulled over and two men tried to steal the animals, police said. “Two suspects exited the vehicle and demanded the victim turn over the dogs at gunpoint. The victim struggled with the suspects and was shot once by one of the suspects,” a police statement said.
One such case was reported earlier, when a woman in San Francisco was beaten in January at gunpoint, and three men stole her gray French bulldog puppy named Chloe, police said.
Gaga has remained among the biggest pop stars in the world since breaking through with her 2008 album “The Fame,” known as much for her shape-shifting persona on stages and red carpets as for her danceable music and powerful vocal pipes.
