Man who saved an 11-year-old boy could face charges for shooting pit bulls

A man could face a year behind bars and a $1000 jail term if he is charged for shooting  pit bulls that attacked an 11-year-old boy. His charges may arise from his violation of Washington D.C’s gun laws.

The yet-to-be-identified man rushed into his home and grabbed his gun to shoot that dogs that viciously attacked an 11-year-old boy  who was riding his new bike on his home street in the Brighton neigbourhood on Sunday. The boy who lies critically injured in the hospital was said to have collided with a pack of unattended pit bulls who bit him viciously in his arms, legs, stomach and chest, leaving him in need of surgery.

A police officer who heard the gun shots raced to the scene and shot the other two dogs, stopping the attack, a police report noted.

While he may have saved the life of the boy – who later underwent surgery on his wounds – the man could face charges for firing his gun on a D.C. street, rather than on his personal property. The man who had left his dogs unattended was cited for failing to leash his dogs and for ‘menacing people’ which could carry a total of just $175 in fines.

Metropolitan Police Department spokeswoman Gwendolyn Crump said that the incident, including whether the man legally owned the gun, remains under investigation.