Alexandria man shoots, kills girlfriend's companion dog: police

ALEXANDRIA, Va. - An Alexandria man has been arrested and charged with animal cruelty-felony, and reckless handling of a firearm-misdemeanor.

The suspect has been identified as Sean Nikai Callender, a 41-year-old Alexandria resident. Callender has been sentenced to three years and nine months of active incarceration after having been convicted of two charges, 

According to officials, he shot and killed his girlfriend’s companion dog, Max.

Officials say the incident occurred on February 25, 2024, Callender and his girlfriend began arguing by phone and text after Callender left the residence and did not return as anticipated. Callender’s girlfriend later took the couple’s child to a family member’s home, leaving her eight-year-old dog, Max, at her residence. 

When Callender returned and discovered the child was not there, he continued to argue with his girlfriend by phone and on Facebook Messenger. Officials say at one point, Callender angrily called his girlfriend to ask about their child’s whereabouts, and at the end of the call, Callender’s girlfriend heard gunshots before Callender hung up. She immediately texted asking whether he had killed her dog. He responded, in part, by saying "you deal with what’s at the house" and "I’m not saying nothing, but don’t go upstairs with the kids." 

Alexandria police responded to the residence where they discovered Max’s lifeless body on the bed in an upstairs bedroom. A necropsy was later performed, and two bullets were recovered from Max’s corpse. During their investigation, police were able to recover video from inside the apartment building. 

According to officials, the video showed Callender coming in and out of the couple’s apartment multiple times after his girlfriend left with their child. In the final video, an object could be seen in his hand that appeared to be a handgun. Police were initially unable to take Callender into custody as his whereabouts were unknown. 

He was later extradited from New York State to stand trial in Alexandria, where he was sentenced to three years and nine months of active incarceration in the Department of Corrections.