POLK COUNTY, Fla. – A K-9 deputy is recovering after being stabbed by a man accused of breaking into a home in Lakeland before he died, according to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office.
Polk County deputies said Monday that K-9 Vise is expected to recover after being stabbed multiple times over the weekend by 31-year-old Carl McHargh, Jr.
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According to the Sheriff’s Office, the suspect was believed to be on drugs and armed with a lug wrench when he broke into the victims’ home Saturday evening, grabbed a knife from their kitchen and barricaded himself in a closet in the master bedroom.
When Vise and his handler, Deputy Sheriff Scott Cronin, tried to take McHargh into custody, McHargh stabbed Vise in his head and neck, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
Three deputies were eventually able to pull McHargh away from Vise and handcuff him but Cronin was cut in the process.
Cronin then ran Vise out to his patrol car and rushed him to Parkway Veterinary Emergency Clinic in Lakeland, where he underwent surgery for nine stab wounds and an arterial bleed, deputies said. Vise also received multiple stitches.
The victims were able to make it out of the home safely, deputies said.
Cronin was also treated at a nearby hospital for his injury and is expected to be OK.
We are happy to report that PCSO K-9 Vise is expected to recover from being violently attacked this past weekend. He was...
Posted by Polk County Sheriff's Office on Monday, March 30, 2020
Deputies shared photos of Vise after the stabbing that show what appear to be stab wounds on his head.
“These deputies and the canine risked their lives to get an armed and dangerous, drug-induced suspect out of the victims’ house. We are grateful that Vise will make a full recovery and that Deputy Cronin and the other two deputies weren’t more seriously injured in this violent attack. This felon was clearly in some sort of drug-induced rage, and preliminary it appears he was suffering from excited delirium,” Sheriff Grady Judd said.
The Sheriff’s Office also posted video on YouTube showing the suspect outside the victims’ home before the incident took place.
McHargh suffered a medical episode shortly after his arrest and later died, according to the Sheriff’s Office. An autopsy revealed cocaine intoxication was his cause of death, deputies said.