Bullet Ricochets Off Pit Bull's Head, Injuring Police Officer

A Harper Woods police officer was injured Sunday morning when a bullet fragment ricocheted off the head of a pit bull another officer had shot as they and other members of the suburban police force tried to corral a pair of dogs that had been described as “vicious.”

The accident occurred about 8:30 a.m. in the area of North Harper Avenue and Parkcrest Drive, police said in a statement published by the Detroit Free Press and The Detroit News.

One of the dogs was reportedly charging when one of the officers, who was not named, shot. The bullet fragmented into several pieces when it struck the head of the dog. One of the fragments ricocheted from the dog’s head to the sidewalk and lodged in the officer’s upper arm.

The officer was not seriously injured. He was transported by ambulance to St. Joseph Hospital, where he was treated and released.

The pit bulls were eventually captured and taken to a veterinarian in Harper Woods. The statement didn’t say what happened to the dog that was shot, or give any other information about their fate.