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Police Open Fire On Pit Bull Loose In Fremont Apartment Complex

FREMONT (CBS SF) - A pit bull got loose at a Fremont apartment complex, prompting a wild chase in which one police officer fired a Taser at the animal and another fired a handgun, a police spokeswoman said Tuesday.

At 7:05 p.m. Saturday, a woman reported to police that a gray pit bull had charged at her as she was walking to her apartment from the parking lot of the complex, located in the 38500 block of Royal Ann Common, Fremont police spokeswoman Geneva Bosques said.

The woman said she got back into her car to protect herself from the dog, Bosques said.

Three officers responded and found the dog on the north side of the complex, where the animal was acting aggressively, growling and barking, Bosques said.

The dog then took off toward the center of the complex.

Eventually, one of the officers found the pit bull and tried to capture it with a snare pole.

But when it appeared that the dog was about to rush the officer, he dropped the pole and took out his handgun, Bosques said.

Another officer then tried to lure the dog toward him, while a third attempted to use a Taser on the dog, she said.

The officer fired his Taser, but the dog ran away, and then an officer shot twice at the animal, according to Bosques. The bullets missed the dog and it ran off again.

At that point, the dog's owner arrived at the complex and told police that the animal belonged to his girlfriend's ex-boyfriend and was being kept in the backyard at their apartment, Bosques said.

The dog eventually returned to the yard, where police discovered that the latch to the fence did not work, allowing the dog to get in and out, police said.

The owner took the dog to a shelter, and the Fremont Department of Animal Services has placed it under quarantine, Bosques said.

The woman who reported the situation told police that the dog had previously attacked a 12-year-old boy and bit his backpack, and had also tried to bite a man. Both residents live in the complex, Bosques said.

(© Copyright 2013 by CBS San Francisco and Bay City News Service. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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