Local News in Brief : Pit Bulls Slain After Killing Another Dog

Inglewood police shot and killed two pit bulls that escaped from a fenced-in yard and ripped open the gate to a neighboring back yard, attacking and killing a 65-pound dog in front of its hysterical owner.

A third pit bull that participated in the slaughter of the dog, a chow chow, had returned to its owner’s home by the time police arrived, Sgt. Harold Moret said.

Before the dogs were shot at 1:45 p.m., police had called county animal control officers for help but were told that it would take half an hour for them to arrive, Moret said.

Police decided to shoot the animals because students from nearby Daniel Freeman Elementary School were scheduled to be released from classes at 2 p.m., and the threat of attack from the dogs was too great, he said.

The three dead animals and the surviving pit bull were picked up by county officials.