A west suburban woman has been cited after police shot her pit bull in front of her home Friday, but the woman says she's upset because the officer fired at the dog in front of her young children.
Gina Marie Stone said her 2-year-old pit bull was shot by Berkeley police Friday afternoon outside her Taft Avenue home.
“When I was putting daughter’s clothes away I heard like a noise,” Stone said.
Stone said her two young children, ages 4 and 5, rushed inside and told her their family dog had been shot.
“The kids came in running like ‘The cops shot Rayleigh, they killed Rayleigh,’” she said.
Rayleigh survived the shooting and police took her to the DuPage Animal Hospital for treatment.
Neighbor Wanda Williams heard the commotion and said she was shocked to see the children were near the scene of the shooting.
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“What startled me even more is that these babies were right there by the cops,” she said.
Berkeley police said they responded to the scene after neighbors called to report an aggressive dog running loose.
Sgt. Justin Patti said when an officer arrived at the scene, two shoeless children were chasing the dog in the street.
“It was reported by one of the callers that called our station that [the children] were using conduit pipe sticks, chasing after the dog and hitting it,” Patti said.
Police said the dog was on a grassy area between the sidewalk and the street when it was shot.
“The dog actually became aggressive towards the officer, lunged at him, got within close proximity and the officer had to protect himself,” Patti said.
Officials say Rayleigh is recovering from the gunshot wound but vet bills have since totaled roughly $350. Police said Stone was cited for having a “vicious dog at large without tags.”
Police said an investigation into the shooting is ongoing and Patti said additional citations or charges could be filed.
