Crime & Safety
2 Pit Bulls Fatally Shot By Philly Officer After Fight, Attack: Police
Wednesday's fatal shooting of two Pit bulls marks the fifth and sixth fatal shootings of dogs in Philadelphia since May 2.
PHILADELPHIA — A Philadelphia Police officer shot and killed two Pit bulls that attacked a woman Wednesday morning in West Philly, authorities said.
The incident started just before 8 a.m. on the 1500 block of North 57th Street.
Police were called to the area for a report of a woman screaming and being attacked by dogs, police said.
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According to authorities, a woman was walking down the street on that block when she saw two Pit bulls fighting on a porch, and a man on that porch asked for her help breaking them up.
Police said one of the dogs was the man's and the other is believed to be a stray.
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The woman sprayed mace on the dogs, which separated them, police said.
That's when police said a third dog owned by the man on the porch ran out of his residence and attacked the woman's arm and ankle.
The woman was able to run off, and the man's two dogs and the third dog turned on each other, police said.
The officer who showed up saw the dogs fighting and fired his weapon several times, striking the stray dog and one of the owner's dogs. Police said the shots were fatal.
Medics took the woman to Lankenau Hospital for treatment, and the dogs' owner, who sustained a dog bite to his chest during the dog fight, refused medical attention.
Philadelphia Animal Control took custody of the two deceased dogs.
The discharging officer a 34-year-old, a five-year veteran of the Philadelphia Police Department, and is assigned to the 19th Police District. He has been placed on administrative duty pending the outcome of the Internal Affairs and Officer-Involved Shooting investigations.
This incident marks six fatal dog shootings by police officers who were responding to dog attacks since May 2.
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