RICHMOND, Va. — A K-9 was “heroically” killed while protecting a correctional officer responding to a violent attack involving apparent gang members, Virginia prison officials said.
Rivan, a 5-year-old Belgian Malinois, died despite life-saving measures after he was “violently and repeatedly stabbed and kicked” by the inmates involved in the attack, the Virginia Department of Corrections said in a news release Wednesday.
Three inmates affiliated with the MS-13 gang attacked another inmate in a housing unit at Sussex I State Prison on Tuesday, with another inmate appearing to oversee the attack, the department said. Corrections Officer Kharmishia Phillip Fields and Rivan, her assigned K-9, worked the area and responded to stop the attack and protect the inmates, the department said in a news release.
Rivan suffered injuries, but Phillip Fields, a four-year veteran of the department, did not, “due to her training and Rivan’s courageous actions,” the news release said. Corrections officers ended the attack and the attacked inmate was treated at a hospital for injuries and returned to jail, according to the department.
“The loss of Rivan is truly tragic, but it is important to remember that he did not die in vain,” Chad Dotson, director of the Virginia Department of Corrections, said in a statement. “He lost his life while potentially saving the lives of two people. assigned officer and a prisoner. The VADOC will never forget Rivan’s sacrifice.”
The department’s statement did not identify the inmates involved by name, but said at least three were verified members of MS-13. All four were in the U.S. illegally when they were arrested and convicted, the department said.
They had been locked up on charges ranging from first-degree murder to attempted rape and counts related to child sexual abuse images.
The department said it intended to prosecute the detainees to the fullest extent of the law and that no further details would be provided during an investigation.
Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin said on social media that the “barbaric members of MS-13 will be held accountable.”
Rivan would have turned 6 years old on April 30 and had been with the department since 2019. A memorial service is planned.
