Police Helicopter Deployed To Help Kill Fugitive Pit Bull On Long Island

(Shashi Sharma, left, was attacked by these two pit bulls, caught on surveillance camera)

A pit bull that had been on the run for three weeks was killed by police yesterday outside a daycare center on Long Island. The pit bull is believed to be the same one who mauled a North Merrick woman after she exercised outside a senior center near her home Sept. 29. Newsday reports (paywall) that Shashi Sharma, 62, was attacked by a female pit bull and her mate, and needed three separate surgeries to repair torn flesh and shredded muscle in all four of her limbs.

Sharma called 911 during the mauling, and police shot and killed the male. But the female escaped, and had been spotted repeatedly during the past three weeks, most recently yesterday a few miles from the attack, near the Southern State Parkway. A helicopter was dispatched, and cops tracked the dog as it ran in and out of backyards. It was finally gunned down outside a preschool yesterday afternoon.

"It's been on the run, it's angry, it's probably hungry," Detective Lt. Kevin Smith told NBC New York at the scene. "All caution was used at this location in trying to subdue the dog, but when the dog turned toward the officers, they were forced to fire." The owner of the dog, who has not been identified, has been called in to identify it, but investigators believe it's the same pit bull who maimed Sharma. Here's Newsday's video segment produced the day of the attack:

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By John Del Signore in News on October 18, 2011 12:39 PM

Comments [rss]

Debbie Bell

These dogs did exactly what they were bred to do: attack for no reason, continue attacking, not stop even if the victim completely submits, do great damage. But it is never the dogs' fault as dogs do not undertand human laws and do not have "morals". Dogs control nothing: not their heritage/breeding/size (are they big enough to do damage?) , not their management (how did the dog reach the victim?), not their sexual status (most attacks are from intact dogs). Since empirical evidence is that pit owners frequently fail their dogs by lack of management or fail to comprehend their dogs' aggression, it is up to socieity to prevent these preventable attacks. Let these "masters of mauling" gradually become extinct thru free, mandatory spay/neuter microchipping. No caring responsible pit bull owner is punished, as his dogs are already spayed/neutered. If a non-pit is misidentied, no problem, he gets a free neuter. If another breed becomes the "next pit bull", add them to the FMSNM Law. Breeders: spay/neuter your pups before sale, so your breed is not increasingly bred for unprovoked aggression like the pit bull breeds were.

Georgina Lunski

Too bad for the dog and the lady.
Another case of an irresponsible dickhead who gets a dog and can't live up to the responsibilities.

birdtird

pitbulls are friendly, unless they're alive;)

Guest

"I'm lookin' for the man who shot my paw"

Bob Moses

Was Palin the trigger-woman?

katiebaker

police helicopters have been a pretty common sight since the attack. They have been overhead for hours at a time. Overall i think the NCPD did a pretty bad job regarding this attack and the hunt for the dog. I wonder if we'll find out how much money this one dog cost the county.

Unkle_Bob

What exactly has the bad job been?

katiebaker

The NCPD has wasted enormous amounts of money on a dog that obviously posed a threat but had not attacked anyone in the two weeks its been on the loose. Last week cops "shot" the dog in the woods behind my house and only managed to put a few bullets through my neighbors house rather than the dog. Countless times they've roped off the neighborhood and had a parade of cops and animal control drive around for hours looking out their windows. Most of the people I've talked to around town equally think that the NCPD has done a terrible job at handling this situation.

Debbie Bell

How can we be sure the dog has been loose the entire time? Perhaps she/he went home and has been living indoors much of the time, only to be let out or get loose again. One of the tragedies of pits is that they can be cuddly and sweet immediatley before and immediately after attacking. Read the pit chat rooms for an education in this regard.