UPDATE: (4/29/21, 6:54 P.M. ET): Five suspects were arrested roughly two months after Lady Gaga’s two French bulldogs were nearly dognapped and her dog walker, Ryan Fisher, was shot. Four of them were allegedly “documented gang members from Los Angeles,” according to the Los Angeles Police Department’s press release that was issued to HollywoodLife. Despite Gaga’s celebrity status, “detectives do not believe the suspects were targeting the victim because of the dogs’ owner,” but “evidence suggests the suspects knew the great value of the breed of dogs and was the motivation for the robbery,” according to the police’s press release.
UPDATE: (2/26/21, 4P.M. ET): The Los Angeles Police Department released a description of the men who stole Lady Gaga‘s two French bulldogs and shot her dog walker. The two suspects have been described as black males, between the ages of 20 and 25. The pair were last seen driving a white Nissan Altima with four doors. The man who shot Gaga’s dog walker was carrying a semi-automatic handgun, had blond dreadlocks and was wearing a black hoodie. The second suspect was also wearing dark clothes.
UPDATE (2/25/21, 20:00 P.M. ET): Lady Gaga‘s father, Joe Germanotta, revealed the family’s distress over the kidnapping of the pop star’s dogs. “We’re just sick over it, it’s really horrible. It’s like someone took one of your kids,” Joe told The New York Post on Feb. 25. He also revealed that he has spoken to his famous daughter “several times” since the incident and told her, “Just try to be strong and remember that they’re [Gaga’s dogs] together.”
ORIGINAL: As an investigation into the shooting and robbery of an unnamed male in his 30s — who’s reportedly Lady Gaga‘s dog walker — continues, new police audio from the Hollywood incident was released on February 25. The audio, which was first obtained by the New York Post and captured around 9:40 p.m. local time, begins with a 911 dispatcher saying, “Shooting just occurred … caller heard one gunshot and a female screaming.”
At one point in the 2-minute audio, the dispatcher can also be heard saying, “One male down … suspect last seen fleeing towards Hollywood Blvd… in a four-door Mercedes with tinted windows … two small dogs taken.”
On February 24, a dog walker was shot and robbed in Hollywood while handling a group of pups at nighttime. While it’s been reported that the two stolen French Bulldogs belong to Lady Gaga, LAPD was unable to confirm the latter.
“We have no connection of it being Lady Gaga. We don’t have any confirmation of that,” Officer Jeff Lee, PIO for LAPD told HollywoodLife on February 25. “Last night around 9:40 pm LA time, LAPD officers from Hollywood division responded to an assault with a deadly weapon radio call involving a shooting at the 1500 block of Sierra Bonita Avenue. When they arrived they discovered that a male white in his 30s was suffering from at least one gunshot wound,” the officer said.
“At least one suspect fled the location in a white vehicle north on Sierra Bonita Avenue towards Hollywood Boulevard and he used a semi-automatic handgun during the course of the crime and took two French bulldogs,” the statement continued. “The suspect and weapon are still outstanding. No arrests have been made and the investigation continues. The victim was transported to a local hospital by Los Angeles Fire Department paramedics and is in critical condition at a local hospital. We cannot confirm the name of the owner of the dogs, and we cannot confirm the name of the victim,” the police statement concluded.
The two French Bulldogs, according to TMZ, are Gaga’s pups, Koji and Gustav. The singer, who’s reportedly offering a $500,000 reward for the return of the pups, has shared plenty of photos with them on social media.
HollywoodLife reached out to a representative for Lady Gaga, who was reportedly in Italy for work at the time of the incident. The singer has not publicly addressed the situation.
This story is still developing. Please check back for updates.