Jess Hardiman
Lady Gaga’s dog walker has recalled the horrifying moment he was shot as he tried to protect the singer’s pets, saying he suddenly realised his lung was bleeding and that he was ‘losing more and more air’.
Ryan Fischer was out walking Lady Gaga’s French bulldogs – Koji, Gustav and Miss Asia – when he was shot by two men. Gustav and Koji were abducted and later handed over to cops, while a frightened Miss Asia ran away but was thankfully found by police.
Fischer has since appeared before a grand jury to speak about what happened, with a previously sealed testimony – which he provided in October 2021, and has recently been obtained by Rolling Stone – revealing how two men ‘threw’ him onto the pavement and started to choke him.
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Fischer grabbed a bottle of champagne he had recently purchased and used it to fight back, eventually managing to get free as he attempted to reach for Koji.
“The dog screamed at me, and I reached for him, and then the guy, the man with the gun shot me as I was reaching,” he said, adding that the two men managed to take Gustav and Koji when he collapsed.
“I immediately tried to call for help but realised I was bleeding out of my lung and that I was losing more and more air quickly.
“And the other dog, Asia, came to, came to my side, and I tried to project as much as possible in a calm manner to get people out of their houses to ask for help.”
The bullet had gone through Fischer’s upper right torso, next to his ‘brachial plexus and the collar bone area’.
“It went through my lung because I was reaching forward, trying to grab Koji,” he said.
He was then rushed to hospital, where he had to have the top third of his lung removed, along with a section from the bottom. Despite the treatment, Fischer admitted he still struggles with ‘breathing issues’.
In the wake of the incident, Lady Gaga offered a $500,000 reward for the dogs' safe return, also thanking Fischer for his bravery.
She said in an Instagram post: "I continue to love you Ryan Fischer, you risked your life to fight for our family. You’re forever a hero."
The Los Angeles Police Department used mobile phone data and surveillance footage to track down the suspects, before charging James Jackson, 18, Jaylin White, 19, and Lafayette Whaley, 27, with attempted murder.
White's father, 40-year-old Harold White, and 50-year-old Jennifer McBride have been charged with accessory to attempted murder.
The LAPD said the evidence suggests they didn't know Fischer worked for Gaga, but they were motivated by 'the great value of the breed of dogs'.
A hearing scheduled for last week had to be postponed after Whaley refused to leave his cell, with the judge issuing an ‘extraction order’ and rescheduling the hearing for 5 April.
White and McBride have pleaded not guilty to being accessories, and remain in custody.