On Tuesday in East St. Louis, police were called after a “wandering Pit Bull mix,” according to Fox 2 Now, bit an eight-year-old boy. According to witnesses, the boy had been throwing rocks at the dog. Witnesses say that a police officer shot at the dog three times, hitting the dog twice. Then the cops did something crazy: They took off. They didn’t recover the dog.

“The dog came across the street and the next thing you heard was pop, pop, pop,” said Cynthia Wilson, who witnessed the shooting.

But the dog didn’t die. The next day, almost 24 hours later, the executive director of Gateway Pet Guardians, Jamie Case, was driving by the area and just happened to see the dog “struggling in the field,” according to Fox 2 Now.

She and her husband pulled over and, as gently as possible, rescued the dog and got him into the truck.

But before they did so, neighbors grew outraged upon learning that the dog was shot and just left there — apparently, nobody knew what had happened to the dog. Police were called, and when they showed up, a news crew caught one of the officers shouting something eye-opening to someone on radio.

“We should have done something proper. How do we shoot a dog and leave a damn dog in a field?” the officer said. “And you wonder why these people say the [expletive] they say about us.”

Fox 2 Now attempted to get the police department’s version of the events, but the department has yet to respond. We hope it does and explains the actions of the police, because at this point, they’re baffling.

As for the dog, he was hit in the shoulder and the head, but the bullets did not penetrate the skull into the brain, according to Fox 2 Now.

“He was fighting us to get in the car, so he has got some oomph left in him,” said Case. “I am hopeful all those things mean he is on his way to recovery.”

The dog, who has been named Colt by St. Clair County Animal Control, was microchipped, and authorities are trying to reach his owner. He is currently being tested for rabies. Doctors had already started rabies treatment on the boy, because they didn’t know the whereabouts of the dog. If the dog is negative, they can stop the treatment.

If Colt makes it and authorities determine he’s vicious, he could be euthanized. If not, he’ll be returned to his owner or adopted. We’ll see.

Via Fox 2 Now