NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — There are new developments in the shooting death of a family dog at a popular Nashville Park.
It's nearly two weeks later and it's confirmed the District Attorney is now investigating what happened.
This comes as many continue to wonder if any criminal charges will be filed.
The German Shepherd named Duke was shot and killed at Percy Warner Park 10 days ago. There is a memorial at the location, as so many remain outraged over what happened.
On the Wednesday morning of the tragedy, there was a large police response to shots fired at the popular park.
Several people called 911, which NewsChannel 5 has now obtained recordings from, including the man who killed the dog:
"I don't know what the right thing to do is but call it in," the man said in the 911 call.
"Are they there?" the emergency line responded.
"The owners there, yeah, they're in pieces."
The dog was off its leash in violation of park rules. But Ariana Kaufman, a witness, said Duke was very friendly with tail wagging.
"It looked like a really sweet dog. And I started petting the dog, playing with the dog," Kaufmann said.
So, she was stunned when a man with a gunshot the dog at least five times just feet from where she and the owners were standing.
Here's more of what the shooter, 31, told dispatch:
"It's horrible. I shot someone's German Shepherd. It got too close. They didn't have a leash. I didn't know they had it on a shock collar," he said.
"Tell me one more time what happened?" the 911 line responded.
"I had to shoot somebody's dog," the shooter said.
Metro Nashville Police Department officers later questioned the man and let him leave.
To date, no charges have been filed. But, the case remains open and now the District Attorney is investigating. He can bring charges, and and legal analyst Nick Leonardo said there are options.
Per police, the dog's owner said his pup was 20 feet away from the man who shot him, and he was on a shock collar. The owner told police he was chasing a squirrel and ignoring his shock collar when he was shot.
"Just because a dog's not on a leash does not give someone a right to kill a dog," Leonardo said.
Police say the man told him he was traumatized as a child when a sibling was attacked by a dog.
But Leonardo said that does not give him license to pull a gun and start shooting unless he genuinely felt he was in imminent threat of serious bodily injury or death.
"It all turns on whether that was an reasonable response to the actions of that dog," Leonardo said.
Members of the DA's office were at the park late last week to see the area for themselves, and are talking to police. Charges they could consider bringing against the shooter are reckless endangerment and illegal killing of an animal.
MNPD has not released the names of the dog's owners or the man who shot the dog.
And, to date, neither has commented publicly about what happened.
The case continues to have a large following on social media.
