Owner of pit bull which attacked family says it was "probably killed because he was a pit bull" rather than because it was attacking an entire family

NORTH CAROLINA -- Greenville Police say an animal control officer shot and killed the mixed breed dog Sunday night. 

The officer says the dog had broken free and attacked a father and his three children, who were playing outside the Park West Apartment Complex off Stantonsburg Road.

The officer reportedly tried to control the dog, but says it also attacked him.

Cynthis Cosey owned Smokie and wasn't home during the incident.  She says Smokie was not an aggressive dog and did not deserve to be shot multiple times.

"To think you would have to shoot a dog eight times to feel less threatened, I mean it was probably because he was a pit bull and most people when they see pit bulls they automatically assume the negative side but that's not the dog that we raised him to be," Cosey said. 

She says she believes he was probably killed because he was a pit bull.

Officers also seized Cosey's other dog.  She says she tried to get in contact with animal control officers, but no one had returned her calls as of Monday.

Police say the father and children suffered minor injuries.

(WCTI12 - May 25, 2015)