Teen injured after officer fatally shoots family dog outside Auburn home

By Lindsay Weber

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    AUBURN, California (KCRA) — An officer shot and killed a dog that ran outside from a family home on Friday, while responding to the report of a missing teenager, according to the Auburn Police Department.

The teenager was also injured in the incident.

Officials said the officer responded to the home on Cedar Street around 9:20 p.m. after an 11-year-old child called 911 and said his 14-year-old sister had left the home while their parents were not there.

The police department said an officer was walking to the front door when it opened with the 14-year-old girl inside. That’s when officials said the 140-pound dog charged toward the officer.

Officials said the dog had its paws on the officer’s chest and was trying to bite them when the officer fired his gun. The officer shot four times, striking the dog twice.

The police department said the dog retreated and died from its injuries. “The dog, after he was shot, made his way into the house here, went to his bed and died,” said its owner.

The officer had a minor dog bite on their hand, the police department said. The officer was not taken to the hospital.

The teenager had a cut on her knee, which officials said may be due to a bullet fragment. She was taken to a hospital where she was treated for her injury.

“I approached the cop that was involved in this shooting and asked him if I can see his injuries because I wanted to know why my dog was shot. It was hard for me to understand that my dog attacked somebody like he was saying he did,” said the teenager’s father and owner of the dog. “He wouldn’t show me anything and I continued to ask. You know, I wanna see where my dog bit you, where you felt you had to shoot my dog as many times as you did resulting in my daughter getting hit from your gunfire.”

The Placer County District Attorney will investigate the incident.

The police department said they did not initially share what happened with the public because “cases involving children and animals are often polarizing and create vitriol on social media.”

“I’m a little disheartened right now with the police department,” said the father. “I’ve always taught my kids that the police are our friends, the police are good people, the police help us, don’t ever be afraid to reach out to the police. I just don’t know how to approach and discuss this situation with them and continue to tell them that because what happened that night didn’t make sense.”

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