Pit Bull Mauls Two People and Dog, Police Say

Salisbury Township police shot and killed a stray pit bull Monday after it mauled two adults and a dog and lunged at the officers, according to a police news release.

Police were called to the 1400 block of Pearl Avenue to investigate a 911 call of a female screaming for help, police said. When officers arrived, they found a woman who was bitten and knocked down by a stray pit bull in her front yard.

While police, with the assistance of Animal Control and the Lehigh County Humane Society, were helping the woman, they were alerted that a 73-year-old man and his dog whom he was walking were being attacked nearby, police said.

The man, woman and dog needed medical assistance. Police transported the man's small dog, who was critically injured with broken bones and internal injuries, to an animal hospital for emergency surgery, police said.

Police continued to secure the neighborhood and a second pit bull was seen in the neighborhood, but was not acting aggressively.

The first stray pit bull returned and "started to aggressively approach two officers," the news release said. "The stray pit bull was shot and killed by police on the scene."

The pit bull's owner was identified and charges are pending, police said. The incident is still under investigation.