A Hamilton Township police officer shot and killed a dog Sunday afternoon after it menaced children and bit an adult, police said.
Police said they were called at around 4 p.m. on reports of two aggressive dogs running loose in a playground in the Harding Lakes section of the township.
Officer Craig Clayton went to a playground at the corner of Rose Boulevard and Cove Avenue. There, he saw two large Rottweilers enter a playground where an adult and three children were.
Police said a dog charged at a 7-year-old girl, biting the girl’s aunt on the arm as she warded the dog away from the child. Clayton and the aunt, whom police did not identify, got the children on a piece of playground equipment, as a dog circled and attached Clayton.
Clayton drew his service weapon, police said, fired three shots and killed one dog. The other dog ran away.
Neither Clayton nor the children were injured. The aunt was taken to AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center, Mainland division, for treatment of minor injuries.
Animal control removed the dog from the playground. Police said charges for the dog’s owner, whom they did not identify, are pending.
