UPDATED: Wanted Felon Shoots, Kills Sheriff's K9 Before Being Shot Himself

PHOTOS: Images of Sultan the canine courtesy of the San Jacinto Police Department, via Facebook.

A Riverside County Sheriff’s Department dog was shot and killed Wednesday in East Hemet as he tried to apprehend a wanted felon, who immediately barricaded himself inside a home, and was later shot and killed himself by deputies.

The first shooting, of the dog, occurred around 2:30 p.m. near the intersection of Mayberry Avenue and San Jacinto Street, according to sheriff’s spokesman Deputy Albert Martinez.

Sultan was with his handler, looking for the suspect, who had an outstanding arrest warrant, though it wasn’t clear for what, Martinez said. The suspect’s name was not released.

“During the search, K9 Sultan alerted to a crawl space underneath a residence,” Martinez later said in a news release. “Due to the confined space K9 Sultan was sent in to determine if the suspect was hiding. Moments later an indistinguishable noise was heard and K9 Sultan returned from the crawl space with an injury to his neck. K9 Sultan was immediately transported to local veterinarian hospital where he expired.”

Sultan had been in service since 2013, based at the sheriff’s San Jacinto Station.

Meanwhile, the suspect continued to refuse to surrender deputies, culminating in a SWAT standoff that lasted several hours, according to Martinez.

After several hours, the standoff ended in a deadly shooting.

“In an attempt to have the suspect surrender peacefully, SWAT personnel deployed tear gas,” Martinez said. “Shortly thereafter, the suspect emerged from underneath the residence armed with a handgun and a deputy involved shooting occurred.”

The man died at the scene.

Sheriff’s personnel are investigating the incident, and the deputies who shot at the suspect have been placed on administrative leave, per department policy, according to Martinez.

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