Daughter breaks down after her French bulldog breeder father, 76, is shot dead during $2,500 sale - issues gut-wrenching plea to killers 'to turn themselves in'
- Lonnie A. Ray, 76, a beloved French bulldog breeder was fatally shot Monday
- Heartbroken daughter, Karen Hannah is pleading for murderer to come forward
- The unidentified suspect still remains at large and puppy is still missing
By
Ruth Bashinsky For Dailymail.Com
Updated: 19:55 EDT, 11 February 2023
Karen Hannah was inconsolable after learning her father Lonnie A. Ray was gunned down Monday night in the parking lot of a KFC in Bishopville, SC while trying to sell one of his French bulldogs.
www.dailymail.co.uk
Daughter breaks down after her French bulldog breeder father, 76, is shot dead during $2,500 sale - issues gut-wrenching plea to killers 'to turn themselves in'
- Lonnie A. Ray, 76, a beloved French bulldog breeder was fatally shot Monday
- Heartbroken daughter, Karen Hannah is pleading for murderer to come forward
- The unidentified suspect still remains at large and puppy is still missing
By
Ruth Bashinsky For Dailymail.Com
Updated: 19:55 EDT, 11 February 2023
The heartbroken daughter of a 76-year-old South Carolina veteran and French bulldog breeder, who was fatally shot during a botched sale, has issued a gut-wrenching plea to her father's killers 'to turn themselves in and do the right thing.'
Karen Hannah was inconsolable after learning that her father
Lonnie A. Ray had been gunned down Monday night in the parking lot of a
KFC in Bishopville, SC, about 53 miles northeast of Columbia, while trying to sell one of his French bulldogs for $2,500.
Ray had reportedly met the buyer online and spoke with them before their arranged in-person meeting. Lee County Sheriff
Daniel Simon, said Ray has a companion, who accompanies him during these transactions, and who was with him Monday night.
When Ray met the prospective buyer in the parking lot, he was shot dead after one of the suspects pulled out a gun. The sheriff said there were, at least, three or four men involved. Ray's friend was not injured. The suspect- with dog in tow - then fled the scene in a getaway car.
The sheriff called Ray probably 'the best breeder in South Carolina.' He told
The New York Times that Ray was 'a cancer survivor...he’s been in the Vietnam War...he survived that,' he said. 'He thought that he was just going to make a sale of a dog. He not only loses the French bulldog, but he lost his life in the process.'
After the shooting, Ray was transported to South Carolina Pines Regional Medical Center in Hartsville, SC but died shortly after. An autopsy was performed on Friday to determine the number of gunshots he sustained.
Meanwhile, the suspect still remains at large and the dog is still missing.
South Carolina authorities are sifting through surveillance footage to find the shooter and learn if others were involved in the heinous crime.
When DailyMail.com contacted the sheriff's department to find an update on the case there was no one available.
According to Simon, Ray of Darlington County, SC, had bred and sold dogs for some time and knew what safety precautions to take when arranging a sale, the Times reported.
Since Ray's death, the sheriff's office in Bishopville have tried to organize a safe meeting area to reduce future risks associated with transactions conducted over
social media, NBC News reported.
