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An American bulldog attacked its owner violently while the two were on a walk last night in Mesa, police say, then ran away after taking a bullet from a cop’s gun.
Just before 7:30 p.m., neighbors in the area of 11300 block of East Contessa saw the large, brown-and-white dog turn on the 22-year-old man, “apparently unprovoked,” according to a write-up by Detective Steve Berry. The man suffered puncture wounds to his thigh, wrist and abdomen.
See also: Samkeith Jurden and His Dog Both Bit Cops Inside a Target Store; Only the Dog Got Shot
The victim was getting treated by paramedics when Officer Justin Brooks showed up.
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He noticed that the dog was still nearby and that a firefighter had been assigned to make sure the dog didn’t “reengage its owner” or rescuers.
Acting aggressively, the dog “lunged” at Officer Brooks. He shot it once in the chest. The bulldog ran away, leaving a blood trail.
While the victim went to the hospital, officers on the ground and in a helicopter conducted an “extensive” search of the surrounding neighborhood. The dog wasn’t found.
Detective Berry says that, as in another recent case in which an officer shot and killed a dog, the action was necessary to make sure no one else got “chewed up.”
Berry’s referring to a very different dog incident at a Mesa Target store back in September. In that case, a man named Samkeith Jurden walked into the store wearing only a swimsuit and black socks and accompanied by his unleashed pit bull. Both Jurden and his dog bit police before the dog was shot.
