According to police, officers were dispatched to Stoebner Way in Larimer just before 5 p.m. Tuesday for the report of a pit bull attacking the man.
When the officers arrived, they said they heard the victim, Thomas Solomon, screaming in pain and quickly went to the man’s defense.
Authorities said one officer fired a shot at the dog, which connected, and the dog ran off. The officer said he knew a shot dog could still attack, so he chased the dog.
The officer eventually fatally shot the dog, and animal control officers were called in to remove the dog and test it for disease.
According to police, criminal charges are pending against the dog’s owner. Officers said the owner showed up at the scene and told them the dog attacked someone and “needed to be handled.”
Channel 11’s Vince Sims talked with the victim’s mother, Johnnie Solomon, who said her son remains in UPMC Presbyterian Hospital.
Solomon said her son told her he fought with the dog for 4-5 minutes until he couldn’t fight any more. At that time, he lay down and did his best to cover his face.
“He has sores all over him and has stitches everywhere,” Solomon said.
Solomon said the only good thing to come from the situation is that the dog wasn’t able to bite her son’s neck, which could have killed him.
“He said the dog was trying to kill him,” Solomon said. “The only thing that saved him was laying down on his face and keeping the dog off his neck.”
Neighbors who live in the area told Sims that the incident concerns them and they agree with how police handled it.
“If the dog was in position and attacking people, I have no problem with that,” Dave Dorsey said.
(WPXI - Feb 13, 2013)
