Crime Dog Dies After Heroically Saving Family from a Gunman at a Child's Birthday Party The dog, along with three relatives were shot at a child's birthday party in Houston, Texas By Robyn Merrett Robyn Merrett Robyn Merrett is a former associate morning news editor at PEOPLE. She left PEOPLE in 2022. People Editorial Guidelines Published on March 21, 2019 12:00AM EDT Photo: Laura Martinez/Go Fund Me A dog has died after heroically tackling a gunman, who shot three members of his family during a birthday party in Houston, Texas. On March 10, Laura Martinez was hosting a celebration for her youngest daughter when a teenager, who they knew from the neighborhood, allegedly showed up with a weapon, according to a GoFundMe set up by Martinez. Martinez claims the gunman came to the house after allegedly breaking into the family’s home while they were sleeping the night before. After the incident, Martinez says she went to the gunman’s home to speak with his parents, but couldn’t find them so she decided to leave a note. She hadn’t heard from the parents or the gunman until he allegedly showed up at her home that Sunday. ABC 13 reported the shooting happened around 9:30 p.m. Dozens of children were at the home when the gunman allegedly fired multiple shots. After firing the first shot, which struck Martinez’ son Taylor Hollier in the foot, the family’s dog Zero, a Great Pyrenees, jumped up and bit the shooter, in an attempt to protect his owners, Martinez claims on GoFundMe. Martinez said the suspect then shot Zero three times, once after he bit him and twice after beloved pooch tackled him to the ground. Zero’s courageous move prevented his family from sustaining life-threatening injuries, she said. RELATED: Trail of Blood Leads Police to Spree Killer’s Victims — Then He Shoots Himself as Cops Close In Martinez was shot in the leg and her daughter Valerie Pace was hit in the back, just inches from her spine. She was also shot in the back of her thigh. Martinez says she’s now on crutches and can’t go to work. • Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Click here to get breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases in the True Crime Newsletter. The family set up the GoFundMe page in hopes of raising funds to help out with their extensive medical bills. Martinez says the family was forced to put Zero down after doctors said he couldn’t be saved. “I’m going to miss him a lot,” Martinez told ABC 13 of Zero. “He jumped up to protect us and never showed any fear, even when he was struck,” Pace added. Hollier also spoke out telling the outlet, “It shouldn’t have happened. It could have been stopped in other ways.” Heroic Dog Named Buster Saves Kansas Family from a Massive House Fire Following the shooting, the gunman remained at large, wanted on three counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon by Harris County police, ABC 13 and the New York Post reported. On Tuesday, Martinez revealed on GoFundMe that the shooter was arrested and given three separate 30,000 bonds. PEOPLE has not been able to confirm the arrest and a spokesperson with Harris County Sheriff’s Office was not available for comment.