Philly officer shoots, kills 2 pit bulls after dog attacks woman, police say

A police officer shot and killed two pit bulls after one of the dogs attacked a young woman in West Philadelphia Wednesday morning.

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Investigators said an 18-year-old woman was walking along the 1500 block of North 57^th Street shortly before 9 a.m. when she spotted two pit bulls fighting on the porch of a home. One of the pit bulls was a stray dog while the second pit bull belonged to a resident at the home, a 57-year-old man who called the woman for help, according to police.

The woman approached the pit bulls and used mace on them, separating the stray dog from the man’s dog. Police said another pit bull that belonged to the man then ran out of the home and attacked the woman, biting her on the arm and ankle.

The woman managed to escape and all three pit bulls then began attacking each other. A 34-year-old Philadelphia police officer responded to the scene and spotted the three dogs fighting each other. The officer pulled out his weapon and fired multiple times, shooting and killing both the stray dog and one of the man’s dogs.

The woman was taken to the hospital for treatment. The 57-year-old man suffered a dog bite to his chest but refused medical attention, police said.

Philadelphia Animal Control took custody of the two dead dogs.

“A lot of times other dogs will join in if they see a fight happening. So that’s again one of those things where if that door had remained closed, if the dogs had been safely secured, that stray dog, if that stray dog wasn’t a stray, none of this would have happened, “ Sarah Barnett, executive director of ACCT Philly told NBC10. “At the end of the day the responsibility does rely on the person who owns that dog or was in control of that dog last.”

The officer’s body camera captured the incident and police continue to investigate. The officer, who is a five-year veteran assigned to the 19^th Police District, is currently on administrative duty pending the outcome of the investigation.

The incident is the latest case of officers shooting and killing pit bulls that attacked a person or another dog in Philadelphia.

Two such incidents occurred in May while another incident occurred in April.

Barnett told NBC10 ACCT Philly is seeing more and more dogs that need homes or are on the street.

“I think a big part of this though does have to do with the pandemic in the sense that dogs that are about four to five years old right now or ones that were born around the pandemic and weren’t properly socialized," Barnett said.

Barnett said more dogs are being surrendered to ACCT Philly due in part to local pet owners losing affordable housing or having trouble finding places that accept animals. Barnett said pet owners need to supervise their dogs, keep them on leashes and report animals that appear to be aggressive.

"It's a community issue," Barnett said. "You want to keep the kids safe. The neighborhood safe."