A police officer wounded in the Chattanooga, Tennessee, shootings underwent surgery and could be released from the hospital as early as Saturday, reported NBC affiliate WRCB.
Sgt. Dennis Pedigo Jr. was shot in the ankle during Thursday’s gun rampage in which four Marines were killed and a Navy officer was wounded, the station said.
The gunman, Mohammad Youssuf Abdulazeez, 24, was also killed in the two shootings at a military recruitment center and a training facility.
“You could hear the shots being fired, an officer had been hit,” Chattanooga police Sgt. Gary Martin told WRCB.
“That officer and I have worked together many, many years, have been through a lot together and he’s probably one of the toughest officers I know,” said Martin from outside Chattanooga’s Erlanger Medical Center.
Pedigo was wounded during the second shooting at a Navy Operational Support Center.
“Before you knew it, I saw him raise his gun and then I saw him take one shot and then I saw him take consistent shots after that,” Martin said.
He added that Chattanooga’s police force will come together to support Pedigo during his recovery.
“Taking care of his family,” Martin said, “we feel like his wife and his loved ones are our responsibility right now.”
Alastair Jamieson