Aurora police kill pit bull after it attacked girl

An Aurora police officer shot a pit bull six times, eventually killing it, after it attacked a girl, mauled another dog and charged the officer, authorities said.

Police spokesman Dan Ferrelli said the pit bull bit and knocked down a 13-year-old girl just after 7 a.m. Tuesday on the 400 block of Jackson Street as she walked to Waldo Middle School. The teen was treated and released from Rush-Copley Medical Center with a bite to the back of her leg.

After it bit the girl, Ferrelli said the pit bull also attacked a golden retriever that was being walked on the east side of Jackson. A smaller pit bull, believed to be from the same house as the larger dog, joined in the attack on the retriever and pulled down the dog's owner, police said.

The retriever was bitten several times and the owner suffered minor scrapes.

When police arrived, the larger pit bull was still running loose and charged one of the officers, who shot the animal three times, police said.

When the wounded dog began walking toward its owner's home, the officer shot it three more times to keep the animal from injuring anyone else, authorities said.

"Unfortunately our officers are faced with having to shoot animals, in cases like this, more than once a year," Ferrelli said.

Aurora Animal Control Director Linda Nass said her department retrieved the pit bull's body as well as three living animals at the home. The dead pit bull has been sent for rabies testing.

Nass did not know the condition of the injured golden retriever on Tuesday afternoon.

Nass said authorities have not been able to contact the owners of the two pit bulls involved in the incident.

"This case is pending but once we communicate with the owners, I expect local ordinance violations will be issued," Nass said. "Those violations can be issued for the dogs being loose, for the dogs attacking or biting, lack of rabies tags, and so on and so forth."