At one time or the other we've all had scary encounters with aggressive dogs - but last night in the city, a plainclothes policeman wasn't having it. He treated the dog like he would an armed and dangerous civilian; he fired a warning shot.
Those are usually fired into the air, but this one was fired into the street - and when the bullet ricocheted , it allegedly hit 13 year old Alondra Ysaguirre.
According to her family - who did not want to speak on camera - at 9:35 pm, Alondra's, her sister and her aunt were returning to their Wood street home from church. Alondra got out to open the gate to the driveway, when one of the family's dogs came close to the gate and started barking at passersby.
An off duty policeman and his brother who were walking past were the target of the dog's barks, and to get the dog to back off, the policeman fired a shot into the street.
Like we said, one theory is that it ricocheted and grazed the 13 year old's hand - another theory is that a displaced piece of gravel from the street is what grazed the child.
So is it a reckless misuse of lethal power, or, was it, in the circumstances, justified?
Her family as we said, hasn't given their side - but a neighbor who wished to appear off camera told us the dogs tend to behave aggressively towards passersby:
Witness
"Last night when we come out, usually the neighbors open their gate, and then they leave their gates open, they use to have 3 dogs and now they have 4. They have the dogs loose and so two of the dog ran after the young man at the front here. When the dogs try to bite him, he fire the shot on the street, then the stones from the street springs up, then the entire household comes out which they never do when the dogs are chasing people. They come out and the young lady gave a statement that the young man shot her, but if you look down on the street you would see where he fired the shot, the hole is in the street."
According to neighbors, this has been an issue for some time.
Witness
"We have the issue every day, in the morning when the kids are going to school, the dogs chase after them. in the afternoon when people are passing the dogs come out. In the night the same thing happens. Everyday single day they left the gates open and none of them hold the dogs. Two weeks ago when my son was going to the shop - 4 of the dogs came out. They chase my son all the way down the street and grab him in his shirt. I shouted and scream and I throw stones at the house and nobody comes out. Nobody comes for the dogs until like 45 minutes after that when the neighbor call the owner of the house then he call them and then they come out. When they came out they still didn't check on anything, they just went back inside their house like they don't know how to talk English. They went inside and lock up their door. It happens every single day, this happens over and over and whatever you tell them they never put chains on their dog, they don't lock the dogs and they left the dogs to chase anybody and laugh through the window."
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