A woman and a Volusia County sheriff's K-9 dog were both recovering Thursday after deputies said both were shot overnight in Deltona, and the suspect — the woman's live-in boyfriend — was found dead in the woods from an apparently self-inflicted gunshot.
Volusia County deputies were called to a home on Buttonwood Avenue around 11:08 p.m. in response to a disturbance between a couple, later identified as Erica Holmes, 38, and her boyfriend, Marlon McCray, 39.
According to investigators, McCray became enraged after Holmes told him she thought they should separate. Deputies said McCray then threw a computer and a beer can. Neither object hit Holmes, who took cover in a car parked in the driveway, deputies said.
Investigators said McCray came out of the house with a metal jack and threatened to hit Holmes and the car with it. They said he later came out with a gun and fired into the car, shooting Holmes in her arm and abdomen before running into some woods nearby.
Deputies said as they searched for McCray, more shots were fired, and one shot hit a sheriff's K-9 named Endo in the neck.
Holmes was transported to Central Florida Regional Hospital in Sanford. Both she and Endo, who was being treated at DeLand Animal Hospital, were expected to recover from their injuries, deputies said.
A Seminole County sheriff's helicopter searching the area found McCray lying in the grass and guided deputies on the ground to the area. Investigators said a gunshot was heard from the woods before they found McCray dead with a gun in his hand.
Deputies said two children, ages 5 and 15, were also inside the home at the time but were unharmed. The two children were turned over to another family member.