The owner of a dog shot and killed by Boston police as officers responded to a nearby shooting over a violent Fourth of July holiday is speaking out.
Shirley Goode said she was screaming as her 8-year-old pitbull mix China was shot by police Wednesday night after the dog allegedly charged at officers as they conducted an investigation into a shooting that left four men injured outside of her home on Fayston Street in the city's Dorchester neighborhood.
"Instead of tasing her or anything, he just shot her head four times, point blank, as I was screaming," she said.
The officers had already cleared the scene, but Goode said they returned when a gun was found under a vehicle, which is when China the dog ran at them.
Boston Police Commissioner William Evans said it appeared the dog was "intentionally" let loose.
"Plenty of other witnesses were running for cover and the officer had to take the pitbull's life," he said.
However, Goode disputes Evans' accounting of events, saying she was on her front porch outside when the dog escaped as someone went inside the home. She walks with a cane and couldn't stop China from running past her and down the steps before coming face-to-face with police.
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"Why would I let the dog out after his officers? Why would I do that?" she asked, adding, "I mean, all the kids were crying, everybody. I don't know what I'm going to tell my grandkids."
The four men shot on Fayston Street are expected to survive. However, the shooting on Fayston Street wasn't the only act of violence on Wednesday, as a man in his 30s was shot and killed near Brookford and Dacia streets. The victim, who has not been identified, was taken to a local hospital, where he died.
The investigations into Wednesday's shootings are ongoing.
