BOSTON (WHDH) - An officer shot at a dog trying to attack police near the Boston Public Library on Boylston Street Thursday morning, officials said.
Around 9:22 a.m., officers responded to the library and encountered a “vicious” dog, according to the Boston Police Department. Police said the canine attempted to attack an officer, prompting one of the officers to shoot at the dog.
The dog was not struck and no injuries were reported in connection with the shooting, police said in a statement. The animal then ran away and was chased by officers through the Boston Common and Downtown Crossing, police said.
At the intersection of Franklin and Pearl streets, in the Financial District, police used a stun gun to take down the dog, the statement said.
The dog is alive and doing okay after the incident.
The owners of the dog, named Maggie, say they have a lot of questions.
“They asked us to leave, and our dog got protective,” said one of Maggie May’s owners. “However, she did not bite the officer, he did fire a warning shot.”
Taber Skiba described the moment police flooded the area.
“Kind of baffled. It seems kind of crazy to have a dog running around,” Skiba said. “It was a huge commotion though. They blocked off the street and everything, for a dog.”
Police officers remained on scene near the Boston Marathon finish line early Thursday afternoon, just days away from the upcoming race.
“I was here in 2013 at the finish line and it was the same sort of sound that you heard back then — loud, a little scary. During that time, afterwards, I was thinking, even a noise from a truck made you jump, so I thought the truck had unloaded something and dropped on the street, but it was loud enough to make you think that it was maybe a gunshot,” one witness said.
Police say the officer that fired the shot was taken to a hospital and was treated for stress. An investigation is ongoing.
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