ARIZONA -- A 24-year-old man was issued a criminal citation Friday after his two pit bulls attacked an 86-year-old man and his dog this week in an east-side neighborhood, police said.
Kevin Nelson is facing 14 misdemeanor violations, including six counts of vicious or destructive animal and two counts each of lack of required vaccination, lack of required license, license tag not worn and dog being at large, said Sgt. Matt Ronstadt, a Tucson police spokesman.
The two pit bulls were shot to death by a Tucson police officer at the scene.
The 86-year-old man was walking his dog in the 6600 block of East Calle Betelgeux, near East 22nd Street and South Wilmot Road, at about 6:30 a.m. Wednesday. The pit bulls attacked the dog and the
man intervened to save it, police said.
Several neighborhood residents called 911 and went to help the man, including a woman who swung a folding chair at the pit bulls in an attempt to keep them at bay, Ronstadt said.
When the officer arrived, he shot both pit bulls several times after the dogs continued to be aggressive and presented a threat, Ronstadt said. The dogs died at the scene.
Tucson Fire Department paramedics treated the victim for non-life-threatening injuries. The man later took his dog to a veterinary hospital.
(Arizona Daily Star - October 8, 2011)
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