CHESAPEAKE, Va. (WVEC) -- A man who was walking his German Shepherd in South Norfolk opened fire when two Pit Bulls attacked his dog on Tuesday.
"Boom, boom, and it like woke me out of my sleep," a neighbor said.
Detective Dorienne Boykin with Chesapeake Police Department said the man with the German Shepherd and his dog were in an alley behind the 1000 block of Decatur St. around 10:50 a.m. when two Pit Bulls attacked the German Shepherd. The man fired into the ground to scare the Pit Bulls and they ran off. Then, they came back and went after the German Shepherd again.
Family members who own the dog say the two Pit Bulls never left the backyard.
"After the first shot, we were right there. We saw the dog limping. How did the dog get back in that fast if we came right after the first shot? It doesn't make sense," explained Deonte McClarty.
Police issued summonses to the owner of the Pit Bulls, 30-year-old Jarel McClarty. The summonses were for Reckless Handling of a Firearm and Discharging a Firearm in Public.
McClarty said, "They question him for an hour, but they let the other man walk away. The man that did the shooting. It is a crazy world, it really is."
The man and his German Shepherd were not hurt. He was also not charged for the incident.
Police originally told 13News Now the dog died from its injuries, but the family says the dog is alive and is expected to survive.