HIALEAH, Fla. – A police officer fatally shot a dog Thursday in Hialeah, authorities said.
Hialeah police Sgt. Carl Zogby said the incident happened at 330 E. 16th St.
Authorities told Local 10 News reporter Michael Seiden that the shooting happened when officers responded to the neighborhood for the second time Thursday after receiving complaints about an "aggressive, stray dog" in the area.
Police said the second call was made by a tow truck driver who claimed that the dog was trying to bite him.
Residents in the area told Seiden that a jogger was also forced to jump on top of a car to avoid being attacked by the dog, shattering the front windshield in the process.
Police said the American bulldog bit one of the responding officers in the leg and the officer fired at the dog, shooting it three times in the back.
"It was biting the police's leg, and he was trying to kick it off, but then he got his gun and shot it," Yohanel Lantigua, who witnessed the incident, said.
Police said a resident who lives in the area took the dog to an animal clinic, where the dog died.
The resident told police that the dog had been roaming the area for days, and he had been feeding the dog because he couldn't find its owner.