TAMPA, Fla. — A violent dog attack in East Tampa ended with Tampa Police Department officers shooting a pit bull that had already killed a smaller pet and was still going after the smaller animal’s owner.
The call came in just after 8 a.m. Thursday at the Idlewild Avenue intersection with North 42nd Street. Arriving officers from the Tampa Police Department said they found the larger dog locked onto a man about 60 years old.
They used their firearms to halt the assault. The pit bull was dead when the shooting stopped.
Crews rushed the injured man to a hospital. Early notes from the Tampa Police Department only described his wounds as serious and offered no update on surgery or recovery.
County animal officers collected both dogs from the street. Investigators still need to identify who owned the pit bull and where that person lives.
Tips can go to the Tampa Police Department under case number 26-649554.
Separate county guidance says a dog labeled dangerous must be entered with Animal Control within two weeks of that ruling, with yearly renewals afterward and fines for owners who skip the paperwork. Nothing released Thursday said this pit bull already carried that label.
Morning traffic along the Idlewild stretch of East Tampa often mixes cars, bikes and people walking pets, which can make a sudden attack especially dangerous for neighbors nearby. Thursday’s response focused first on ending the mauling already under way.
No person had been charged in the first public briefings. The Tampa Police Department said finding the pit bull’s owner remains an open piece of the inquiry.
Section: More Tampa FL crime news
Filed under: Tampa FL Public Safety News
