Des Moines man charged with killing dog in front of 11-year-old owner

DES MOINES, Wash. — A Des Moines neighborhood is in shock after a man allegedly shot and killed a dog in front of its 11-year-old owner.

The suspect, a 64-year-old man, lives a block away in the same neighborhood near Highline College.

The girl spoke briefly off-camera to KIRO 7. And she is still upset about what happened to her dog on Wednesday.

A neighbor said the dog died in the middle of the street, not far from where she lives with her grandmother.

It is a Des Moines neighborhood on the flight path to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. But a different sound startled neighbors here Wednesday at dusk.

“I wasn’t sure if it was a backfire,” said neighbor Amy Stapleton. “But there were like three gunshots grouped really closely together. Just loud bangs.”

What Stapleton heard, according to eyewitnesses, was a neighbor shooting another family’s pet right in front of an 11-year-old girl.

“I think it’s awful,” she said. “This is a pretty quiet neighborhood. So it’s surprising, like, something like this would happen.”

“My understanding of the thing is that he was coming up the side of the street,” said Michael, the girl’s father.

He asked us not to use his last name.

He said his daughter was trying to get the boxer, Tyson, back into his mother’s yard when 64-year-old Curtis Madden approached them.

“And then that’s when Tyson took off to go that way,” said Michael, pointing down the street. “And I guess he was coming back, and that’s when he shot him the leg the first time.”

Madden allegedly yelled an obscenity, then shot Tyson twice more in the torso. The girl told her family that he then threatened to shoot her.

It is devastating for the family, who said Tyson was a loving, faithful presence throughout life’s challenges for the last seven years.

“Tyson’s just been there,” said Michael, his voice breaking. “And it’s just hard knowing you’re at work and you think you’re doing what’s right. And some dude just pulls a gun out. And your daughter doesn’t have her dad there because her dad’s at work.”

He said his daughter has been in therapy because of past traumas. And she will need to continue that therapy because of what happened here.

©2022 Cox Media Group