Actor and singer Tyrese Gibson is facing animal cruelty charges in Georgia after one of his Cane Corso mastiffs attacked and killed another dog, according to reports.
“Mr. Tyrese Gibson extends his deepest condolences to the family who lost their beloved dog to this tragic incident that occurred while Mr. Gibson was away from his home,” Gibson’s lawyer, Gabe Banks, said in a statement to TMZ on Tuesday.
“Upon learning of this unfortunate accident,” the statement continued, “Mr. Gibson immediately made the difficult decision to rehome his dogs to a safe and loving environment.”
Authorities were called on September 18 by Gibson’s neighbor, Harrison Parker, who claimed one of the mastiffs “roamed freely in the Tuxedo Court neighborhood in Buckhead and had just killed the neighbor’s dog, a 5-year-old King Charles Cavalier Spaniel,” according to WTMV reported.
Parker said he let his dog, Henry, out to play in his front yard, and when he came back minutes later, the pup was dead.
Prior to the attack, Gibson’s dogs were “reported running loose on five occasions,” and he has received multiple warning on the matter.
On September 22, the “Fast & Furious” actor told authorities he would surrender the mastiffs, but when they showed up at his home, he instead told them he “wanted three or four days to decide what to do.” Officers showed up later the same day with a search warrant, but by then, “Gibson was gone and the dogs had been moved,” police said.
