Police: Officer fearing attack fatally shoots dog on South Side

A Chicago Police officer fatally shot a pit bull while responding to a call on the South Side Sunday morning.

About 10 a.m., officers were dispatched to the 9500 block of South Ewing after someone reported seeing a man entering a backyard with a gun, police said.

Officers then saw a man fitting the description they were given leaving a yard with a large pit bull, police said. The man ignored the officers’ demands to tie the dog to a fence as they attempted to approach him, police said.

The man then released the dog in the direction of one of the officers, who feared an attack and shot it, police said. The dog later died.

The man police were pursuing was taken into custody and had a weapon on him, police said.