Philadelphia Police say officers shot and killed a loose dog along a residential street this morning.
Some neighbors argue that the dog wasn't bothering anyone along the 1400 block of Montrose Street in South Philadelphia.
Two officers were placed as desk duty as police investigated the deadly shooting of the pit bull around 6:30 a.m. Wednesday.
Officer said the dog, a pit bull, was running loose and attacking people, according to Philadelphia Police spokeswoman Christine O’Brien.
As officers responded to the scene, the dog charged them so they opened fire striking and killing the dog, according to police.
The officers weren’t hurt nor were any residents in the neighborhood.
As of mid-morning, no one had come forward to claim the apparent pet, which officers say was scaring neighbors.
Some neighbors disputed that claim of the dog being out of control, including Dave Lewandowski who took a photo of the bloody aftermath and posted it to his Twitter account.
"Police shoot dog while laying down on door steps for barking," wrote Lewandowski.
Joseph Remer who lives two doors down from where the dog was shot said the pit bull was on the front stoop barking around 4:15 a.m. when he woke up.
Remer said when he went outside a short time later he saw that the dog, which he recognized as being at the home before, didn't seem to be bothering anyone.
"The dog barked a few times and lifted its head," said Remer.
Remer, who has lived on the block for more than eight years, said the dog just seemed to be relaxing on the stoop, not running up and down the block.
Before he left for work he heard what sounded like a gunshot followed by the sound of an animal whimpering and then a second gunshot.
He said when he went outside that some people claimed the dog acted violently yet he said no neighbors appeared hurt and the people he spoke with said the dog wasn't really bothering anyone before police showed up.
As standard operating procedure, the officers were place on desk duty since they discharged their weapons while on duty, according to police. A full internal affairs investigation was launched to figure out exactly what led to the shooting.
Photo Credit: NBC10.com