CALIFORNIA -- A Fresno police officer fired a round from his handgun Friday morning at a pit bull that had knocked him off his feet and was preparing to charge him again in central Fresno, police said. The bullet missed and the animal retreated.
Another pit bull, one of three that police say were running loose near Fresno Street and Tyler Avenue, was shot and killed by a homeowner as it attacked animals in the homeowner's fenced yard.
Sgt. Alex Flores said the owners of the three dogs will probably be cited for allowing them to run free. The two surviving pit bulls were taken away by animal control.
The incidents started about 11 a.m. when the three dogs went into a yard in the 2400 block of East Tyler Avenue and attacked the homeowner's cats, Flores said. The homeowner went outside and shouted at the dogs but to no effect. The homeowner then got a gun and shot and killed one of the dogs. The other two ran off.
Animal control and police located the surviving pit bulls in the 2200 block of East Clay Avenue.
Flores said that when the officer went to talk to the owners, one of the dogs ran out of the yard and rammed him in the leg, knocking him to the ground.
The officer kicked at the pit bull while shouting at it. The dog initially turned to flee but then turned again and was preparing to attack when the officer fired a round from his .40 caliber handgun. That apparently frightened away the dog.
The officer sustained cuts and bruises to his elbows and a shin.
The SPCA and police are determining what to do with the dogs.
Flores said the homeowner was within his rights to protect his property by shooting the dog.
"If he had reacted in any other way, there would have been a second victim," he said.
(Fresno Bee - Apr. 26, 2013)
