Philadelphia, PA — An off-duty police officer shot and killed one of three pit bulls attacking a woman in Southwest Philadelphia on Tuesday morning.
The incident occurred around 10:38 a.m. on the 1500 block of South 58th Street. The officer, driving his personal vehicle, saw a 52-year-old Black woman being attacked by several dogs.
The dogs’ owner, a 21-year-old Black man, was attempting to stop the attack.
The officer discharged his service weapon multiple times, stopping the attack. The woman sustained bite wounds to her leg, arm, and head and was transported to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania-Cedar in stable condition.
One pit bull was found deceased in the owner’s backyard and taken into custody by Philadelphia Animal Care & Control. The owner controlled a second dog, but the third dog remains at large.
Police are investigating the circumstances of the attack, including what provoked the dogs. The officer, a 43-year-old two-year veteran of the Philadelphia Police Department assigned to the 17th Police District, has been placed on administrative duty pending the outcome of the Internal Affairs and Officer-Involved Shooting investigations.
This follows an incident earlier this month when an officer was forced to shoot a dog attacking a man in the city.