Illinois man accused of shooting neighbour’s dog in front of 10-year-old owner and her family

The 61-year-old has been charged with one count of aggravated cruelty to animals and one count of reckless discharge of a firearm

John Fazzini, 61, is accused of shooting his neighbour’s dog while out for a walk with his own dog on 10 March in Aurora, Illinois. (DuPage County State's Attorney's Office)

The bond for Illinois man John Fazzini, accused of shooting his neighbour’s dog in the head while the animal’s 10-year-old owner looked on, has been set at $100,000 (£76,525), the state attorney announced Wednesday.

The DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin and Aurora Chief of Police Keith Cross reported that police arrived at the 300-block area of Shadybrook Lane on 10 March at approximately 9pm after receiving a call about gunshots.

When the authorities arrived, they discovered an eight-and-a-half-year-old German Shepherd named Jameson, known to the dog’s family as ‘Jamo’, sprawled out on their porch with a gunshot wound on the right side of his snout.

The office of the state’s attorney alleges that Jamo’s owners, including a 10-year-old girl, had been taking their pet for a walk in the neighbourhood when their dog wriggled out of its harness to go greet Mr Fazzini’s barking dog, who was on the opposite side of the street.

The German Shepherd allegedly started to run “circles around Fazzini and his dog” before the 61-year-old “without a warning” pulled out a gun and shot the neighbour’s dog from approximately four to five feet away.

Jamo’s owners told WMAQ in an interview that the dog, who is still recovering from last month’s incident, then scampered away and returned to their front porch.

“He’s not quite Jamo yet, but he’s still alive,” said Megan Peterman, one of the dog’s owners. “He’s still getting back, and his personality comes back a little bit more every day.”

The owner’s of the 8-year-old German Shepherd who was allegedly shot by a neighbour last March pose with Jamo outside their home in Aurora, Illinois. (WMAQ/Screengrab)

The 61-year-old was reportedly taken into custody on Tuesday afternoon following a traffic stop by Aurora police, the state’s attorney office said.

He has been charged with one count of aggravated cCruelty to animals, one count of reckless discharge of a firearm and one count of criminal damage to property, all class 4 felonies.

Mr Berlin, the DuPage County state’s attorney, described the alleged attack as “unconscionable” in a statement released on Wednesday.

“This type of conduct will not be tolerated and will be met with the full force of the law,” he said, before adding that he was “thankful that Jamo is currently safe at home and appears to be recovering well from his injuries”.

The local police department noted that this kind of alleged attack has “zero tolerance”.

“The Aurora Police Department has zero tolerance for anyone recklessly firing a gun in our city,” said Chief Cross in a statement.

Mr Fazzini is set to appear in court next on 4 May 2022, for an arraignment in front of Judge John Kinsella, the same judge who set his bond at $100,000 on Wednesday.

For their part, the family of Jamo told the local news station that they remain confused about why the alleged incident occurred, noting that there was a good distance between Jamo and Mr Fazzini’s dog.

“We were on opposite sides of the street, and I even stopped to let him get further on down the street. This is a very friendly dog neighbourhood,” said Zach Zeciroski, Ms Peterman’s partner and the father to the 10-year-old girl who witnessed the alleged incident.

“I still hear the gunshots,” he said. “I still hear the terrible sound of Jamo wailing in pain. I could see the blood. I could see my daughter. I could see her shaking.”

Though it’s a miracle that the bullet didn’t land inches one way or the other on the dog’s snout – potentially making the March incident a fatal one if so – there’s still a long road to recovery for the family’s treasured German Shepherd.

“He still needs CT scans to make sure that the bone fragments that are at the base of his skull aren’t going to cause any problems now that the swelling’s down,” said Ms Peterman, who told the station that family and friends stirred by the dog’s misfortune have started a fundraiser to help offset the costs of ongoing treatment.