A South Carolina man was shot to death Monday night in a dog sale gone wrong. 

Lonnie Ray arranged on Facebook Marketplace to meet in the parking lot of a KFC in Bishopville, South Carolina, to sell a bulldog puppy for $2,500, only to be robbed of the puppy and killed by the people who showed up.

“He had a passenger in the vehicle with him. When they went to do the exchange for the dog, the guy snatched the leash from him and pulled out a handgun and started firing,” Lee County Sheriff Daniel Simon said, according to WBTW-TV, a Florence, South Carolina, CBS affiliate.

Authorities indicated the shooter had two to three accomplices with him, according to The New York Times. Mr. Ray would die at the hospital Monday night. The companion Ray brought with him was uninjured in the fracas.

As of Wednesday night, the assailants were still at large and the purloined pooch missing. Authorities did not have footage from the KFC but are still cleaning and examining footage from the security camera of a nearby convenience store.

“He’s a cancer survivor, he’s been in the Vietnam War. He survived that. 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,” Sheriff Simon said, according to The Times.

Purebred French bulldogs have become one of America’s most expensive dog breeds, fetching prices of up to $6,000. As such, the dogs have also become the target of criminals; in 2021, the dogwalker for Lady Gaga was shot and robbed in daylight in Los Angeles while out with her French bulldogs.

Mr. Ray, an experienced breeder, sold his French bulldog puppies between six and 12 weeks of age.

“Over the years, he used to be a coon hunter. He and I are friends. … His family has grown up and everything. And we’re gonna do everything we can for him,” Lee County Coroner Larry Logan told WPDE-TV, a Florence ABC affiliate.

Mr. Ray’s daughter, Karen Hanna, told WPDE, “For my daddy and my family. For my mama. I just want justice for him.”

• Brad Matthews can be reached at bmatthews@washingtontimes.com.