Police in Philadelphia are investigating after a dog attacked another dog and killed it last week in the West Oak Lane section of the city, officials said.
Last Wednesday, an officer responded to a call about the dog attack just after 8 a.m. on the 2100 block of Eastburn Avenue, police said.
Once on the scene, the officer saw that a pit bull was attacking a Pomeranian on the sidewalk, according to officials. The owner of the pit bull had tried to stop the attack, but was not successful.
The officer used her taser twice to try and stop the attack, but it didn't work, officials said. She then fired three rounds from her weapon which did stop the attack.
Get top local stories in DFW delivered to you every morning. Sign up for NBC DFW's News Headlines newsletter.
This is when the pit bull turned toward the police officer causing the officer to fire three more times and hitting the pit bull in the leg, police said.
The owner was able to take the injured pit bull to a nearby veterinary hospital to be treated for the single gunshot wound, according to officials.
The Pomeranian that was attacked was taken to Animal Care and Control Team Philadelphia but did not survive, police said.
U.S. & World
The officer is a 31-year-old eight year veteran of the Philadelphia Police Department and has been placed on administrative duty as the investigation continues.
Sign up for our Breaking newsletter to get the most urgent news stories in your inbox.
