Animal lovers everywhere were shocked last month after actress Angie Harmon, of Rizzoli & Isles and Law & Order fame, announced that her dog Oliver had been shot and killed by an Instacart delivery driver.
Now, Harmon is opening up about the tragic and shocking loss â and taking legal action against the company and the culprit.
DOG SHOT BY DRIVER
The incident occurred last month over Easter weekend. Harmon had groceries delivered to her North Carolina home via Instacart, and the delivery driver shot and killed her dog, a beagle mix named Oliver.
Harmon wrote on Instagram that the driver admitted to shooting the dog, claiming self defense. âHe shot our dog with my daughters & myself at home & just kept saying, âyeah, I shot your dog. Yeah I did,ââ Harmon wrote.
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department did not charge the shooter as he claimed self defense, saying Oliver was trying to bite him, but Harmon said there was no sign of any struggle or aggression from her dog.
âHe didnât have a mark on him,â Harmon recently told People. âHe didnât have a scratch; he didnât have torn jeans. He didnât have puncture marks. Most importantly, he didnât ask for help. He says he was attacked multiple times by Ollie and that he had to kick him off. But he didnât even ask for a Band-Aid or an ambulance.â
She also wrote on Instagram that her Ring doorbell camera was charging inside so she has no video of the incident, âwhich he saw & then knew he wasnât being recorded.â
Making things even more bizarre, the man was also reportedly âshopping under a womanâs identity named Merle.â
The killing of their dog shocked and devastated Harmon and her family. âWe are completely traumatized & beyond devastated at the loss of our beloved boy & family member,â Harmon wrote on Instagram, sharing photos of her late dog.
âTo the man who took Ollie away from us: your actions are despicable and inexcusable,â she added in her Instagram stories. âYouâve not only robbed us of a beloved member of our family but youâve also traumatized us beyond measure. The fact that someone could commit such a heartless act is beyond comprehension to me and Iâm devastated that I didnât get to say goodbye to him.â
LAWSUIT
More than a month after Oliverâs killing, Harmon is pursuing some real-life Law & Order: she has filed a lawsuit against Instacart and the delivery driver, now identified as Christopher Anthoney Reid.
The suit, filed on Friday, alleges negligence, trespassing, infliction of emotional distress, and invasion of privacy, according to NBC News. She alleges that she heard the gunshot from upstairs and ran down fearing her childrenâs safety, and saw Reid âplacing a gun in the front of his pants, potentially in his pant pocket.â
âItâs so unfathomable to think that there is somebody in your front driveway that just fired a gun,â Harmon told ABC Newsâ Juju Chang, via GMA. âAnd you donât ever forget that sound.â
According to People, the lawsuit also says that Oliver was still alive after the gunshot, and rushed him to the vet, but he soon died. The suit also casts doubt on Reidâs self-defense claims, alleging that he was ânot injuredâ or âseriously threatenedâ and had ample time to leave the property.
The family says that they have never had any incidents of Oliver being aggressive towards delivery drivers. âI order five Amazon packages a day, and itâs never been an issue,â Harmonâs daughter Avery told ABC News.
Instacart, the grocery delivery service named in the lawsuit, said they were âdeeply saddened and disturbed to hear about this incidentâ last month.
âWe have no tolerance for violence of any kind, and the shopper account was immediately suspended from our platform. We have been in direct contact with the customer and are cooperating with law enforcement on their investigation.â
Itâs truly unbelievable what happened to Angie Harmonâs dog Oliver, and we hope she and her family are able to get some justice after this shocking incident
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