DogsBite.org Releases Report: U.S. Police and Citizen Shootings of Pit Bulls 2008

The report shows that 40% of the incidences resulted in pit bull bite injury; in six cases, the injury led to death. 3% of the occurrences involved human bullet injury.

Seattle, Washington (June 3, 2009) -- DogsBite.org, a national dog bite victims' group dedicated to reducing serious dog attacks, releases its 2008 report on pit bulls shot for public safety reasons. The 20-page report documents 373 incidences in which U.S. law enforcement officers and citizens were forced to shoot a dangerous pit bull to prevent an attack or to stop an ongoing attack.

The report tracked 12 data aspects per incident. Of the 373 incidences, 626 bullets were fired and 319 pit bulls were killed. 148 people suffered bite injury in these incidences as well. In at least three instances, the bite injury resulted in amputation. In six instances, the bite injury resulted in death. The findings also show that firearm intervention might have prevented at least eight deaths by a pit bull mauling in this period.

According to the report, 43 U.S. states had at least one shooting. States with the highest number of shootings include: California (37), Texas (32), Florida (24), Illinois (23) Ohio (23), Pennsylvania (20), Washington (15) and Indiana (13). Of the U.S. cities documented, Omaha had the most shootings (9), all of which occurred within a 6-month period, followed by Chicago (7) and a group of U.S. cities each reporting four.

Information for the 12-month report was gathered through online media sources -- Google News Alerts and web searches -- at the time of the shooting. Extensive Internet searches were not performed to find the 373 incidences.

The six incidences that resulted in death include: Isis Krieger, 6 (Anchorage, AK), Kelli Chapman, 24 (Longville, LA), Luna McDaniel, 83 (Ville Platte, LA) Cendi Carey, 4 months (Las Vegas, NV) Tanner Monk, 7, (Breckenridge, TX) and Pablo Lopez Hernandez, 5, (Weslaco, TX).

About DogsBite.org
DogsBite.org is a national dog bite victims' group dedicated to reducing serious dog attacks. Through our work, we hope to protect both people and pets from future attacks. Our website, www.dogsbite.org, was launched in October 2007 and contains a wide collection of data to help policymakers and citizens learn about dangerous dog breeds. Our research focuses on pit bull type dogs. Due to selective breeding practices that emphasize aggression and tenacity, this class of dogs negatively impacts communities the most. Our website hosts important dog bite studies, U.S. dog bite fatalities and other key bibliographies. In the Legislating Dogs portion of our site, we offer examples of breed-specific laws and documentation of the constitutionality of these laws. The Victim Realities section provides a glance into the unforgettable histories victims leave behind and much more. DogsBite.org operates out of Austin, Texas and can be contacted via: 512-650-8510 or . Research contributions and active website participation stems from individuals that span the United States of America and across the world.