A 9-year-old boy was bitten by a tan-and-white pit bull early Friday in Philadelphia's Parkside section, suffering injuries to his legs and chest before a man shot the dog in an effort to pull the child to safety, according to police. The boy was taken to Children's Hospital of Philadelphia for treatment and was reported in stable condition.
Police responded around 7 a.m. to the 4900 block of West Girard Avenue for a report of a dog attack, according to 6abc. Investigators said the boy had been bitten by the pit bull, and the station reported that a man shot the animal while trying to rescue the child from the attack.
After the shooting, the dog was taken to the Pennsylvania Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals for further evaluation, per the same report. The investigation remains ongoing, and no additional details about the circumstances of the attack have been released.
A Pattern of Dog Attacks and Police Shootings in the City
Friday's incident adds to a string of Philadelphia dog attacks and shootings that have drawn scrutiny in recent years. In one case, an off-duty police officer shot and killed one of three pit bulls attacking a woman in Southwest Philadelphia on the 1500 block of South 58th Street, according to the Philadelphia Police Department. That woman suffered bite wounds to her leg, arm, and head and was transported to the hospital in stable condition, the department said.
In a separate West Philadelphia incident, a police officer shot and killed two pit bulls after one of them attacked a young woman, NBC Philadelphia reported. The same report said a 57-year-old man suffered a dog bite to his chest during that encounter but refused medical attention, and noted that two similar incidents had occurred in May along with another in April, though the year was not specified.
Another case unfolded inside a North Philadelphia home, where police said a neighbor's dog entered and attacked a dog that was already inside, and both animals died as a result, according to NBC Philadelphia. In that incident, the homeowner discharged a legally owned gun, striking the larger dog, police said.
Children Have Been Hurt in Other Recent Attacks
Children have been caught up in other Philadelphia dog attacks as well. A 6-year-old boy was bitten while playing with friends on a sidewalk in North Philadelphia just before 7 p.m. on a Wednesday in the 2400 block of North 25th Street, 6abc reported. His mother took him to the hospital for bite wounds to his back and arms, and he was listed in stable condition, the station said.
In a separate incident reported alongside that case, a 6-year-old girl was bitten in the face by a dog inside a home in the city's Kensington section and was taken to St. Christopher's Hospital for stitches, according to 6abc.
Bite Numbers Diverge Across Reports
Citywide dog-bite figures vary depending on the source. The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that dog-bite reports were down. By contrast, Axios reported just 235 dog bites for all of 2023, and said bites through the first five months of 2024 stood at 59, down from 355 in 2015. The dossier does not explain the discrepancy between the two counts, which may reflect different reporting systems or definitions.
Axios also reported that Philadelphia police shot and killed four dogs in the first five months of 2024, one fewer than the five dogs the department killed in all of 2023. In a North Philadelphia example in the same report, an officer shot a pit bull during an attack that killed another dog. The original 6abc report said a man shot the dog in Friday's Parkside attack.
