CALIFORNIA -- A Vallejo police officer shot and killed a pit bull Tuesday night after it attacked a 5-year-old boy and his mother.
The incident began at about 9:20 p.m., when officers were dispatched to the 200 block of Avian Drive on reports of a possible dog bite, police said.
When the officers got there, they found a 22-year-old woman who was already talking to paramedics, police said.
She told officers that she was in a parking lot with her son on Avian Drive when a man passed them, walking his pit bull, police said.
The dog managed to slip out of his collar and bite her son, police said. The mother also sustained bite injuries as she tried to protect her child, police said.
The child and his mother were taken to Kaiser Permanente Vallejo Medical Center and treated for minor injuries, fire officials said.
By the time police arrived on Avian Drive, neither the dog nor its owner were at the scene.
However, the dog, a full-grown adult pit bull, was eventually found on Columbus Parkway near Tennessee Street, police said.
When an officer and an animal patrol officer tried to take the dog, it became aggressive and tried to attack both the police officer and the animal control officer, police said.
The officer at first tried to use his Taser to subdue the dog, but the dog continued to attack, police said.
The officer then drew his gun and shot the dog, police said.
(Times Herald - August 8, 2012)
