Armed police killed a dog after it attacked its owner, leaving her with life-changing injuries, and seriously injured another person.
Officers were scrambled to an address in Sandown on the Isle of Wight after being alerted to a woman being attacked by the Staffordshire bull terrier-mastiff cross at 10pm on Sunday.
The woman, in her 40s, was taken to hospital with “serious and potentially life-changing injuries”, Hampshire Police said.
A man in his 20s, known to the owner, was also attacked by the dog at the property in The Fairway, and was taken to hospital with serious injuries.
A force spokesman said: “Due to the severity of the circumstances, armed officers were deployed to the scene, where the dog was dispatched to prevent any further members of the public coming to serious harm.”
Inspector Matt Moss said: “We understand the circumstances will be incredibly distressing for the public, but please be reassured that it is very rare for our officers to have to deal with an incident of this nature.
“The two injured people remain in hospital at this time and our inquiries remain ongoing to establish how this incident happened.
“The dog involved did have to be destroyed at the scene by attending officers. We do not take these sorts of decisions lightly, and we are confident that this was absolutely necessary in the circumstances to protect the wider public, due to the threat that the dog posed.
“We would like to thank the two members of the public who stopped at the scene in their vehicle to assist the two injured people prior to the arrival of emergency services.
“Thankfully they were unharmed, and their actions may have prevented the dog from causing further injuries.”
