A pair of dogs “aggressively” charged at police in South Los Angeles, prompting at least one officer to open fire, but neither of the animals were struck by the gunfire, police said Thursday.
Officers from the 77th Street Division responded around 2:30 p.m. Wednesday to the intersection of Raymond Avenue and West 59th Street on a report of aggressive dogs in the area, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.
The responding officers briefly spoke with a man who said he had been attacked by a pit bull and a German shepherd, but he managed to fend them off, police said. The dogs were last seen near a motor home parked on Raymond Avenue north of West 58th Place.
The officers went to that area in hopes of finding the dogs’ owner, but as they got out of their vehicle, “the dogs aggressively ran toward them,” prompting at least one of the officers to open fire, police said.
“Neither dog appeared to have been struck by gunfire and were last seen running onto the property of a vacant/abandoned residence,” according to an LAPD statement. “Although a representative from the Los Angeles Department of Animal Services was called to the scene, it was determined the dogs could not be safely detained.”
A report of the dogs’ action was taken and filed with Animal Services, however, the owner of the dogs has not been identified.
No officers were injured.
The man who said he had been attacked by the dogs sustained only minor injuries and declined to be taken to a hospital, police said.