Dog escapes car in supermarket parking lot and attacks 16-year-old girl, Utah cops say

A dog was shot and killed in a parking lot of a grocery store after attacking a teen girl in Utah, media outlets reported.

On Sept. 13, Santaquin Police received a call that a 16-year-old was being attacked by a “group of pit bulls” in a Macey’s supermarket parking lot, according to ABC 4. It was later learned that one dog bit the girl but three were present during the incident.

The person who called the police also reported that “one of the dogs had been shot,” according to Fox 13.

The girl suffered injuries to both arms and her left leg, according to Fox 13. Her injuries did not need medical attention.

“A man was walking into a nearby store when he heard screaming for help,” officials said, according to ABC 4. The man and other bystanders ran over to the teen to protect her from further injury.

According to Sgt. Mike Wall with the Santaquin Police Department, “The pitbull ran towards the man coming out of a store and he fired his gun, killing the dog,” KUTV reported.

The dog owner admitted to leaving the dogs in the car while he was in the store, according to KUTV. A window was partially broken and could have led to the dogs escaping, the outlet reported.

The owner was charged and released with a citation according to Wall, as reported by KSL. No charges are being pursued against the man who killed the dog.

Santaquin is about 70 miles south of Salt Lake City.

This story was originally published September 15, 2022 at 12:09 PM with the headline "Dog escapes car in supermarket parking lot and attacks 16-year-old girl, Utah cops say."