A police officer shot two dogs, killing one of them, after another officer was bitten while responding to a home in Boston's Dorchester neighborhood Wednesday afternoon.
Police said an officer was attacked by the two animals while serving an arrest warrant on Michigan Avenue. Another officer then shot the animal.
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Authorities initially said only one dog was involved.
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The officer who was bitten was taken to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, Boston police said. The second officer who shot the dog was also taken to the hospital, per department procedure.
One of the dogs has died, and the other was injured, police said.
The mother of the man who was arrested recorded a cellphone video that captured the sound of five gunshots going off in the apartment, followed by screaming.
The woman, who wants to remain anonymous, says the dogs that were shot, Colby and Tampa, are pit bulls. She said the arrest warrants against her son were for driving without a license. She shared photos of the pit bulls with NBC 10 Boston and says she believes the actions by the officers were excessive.
A family friend who was also at the home says police provoked the dogs.
"They get in the house, I go to the bathroom, and then they shoot the dog, that's all I could hear," she said. "And then the next thing I know, when I get out, I see blood everywhere. It was just crazy."
A neighbor told NBC10 Boston that one of the pit bulls is known to be aggressive with residents.
"A few months ago, he did bite my daughter," she said. "I think a couple weeks ago, he bit the landlord's wife, and they did call Animal Control."
