NYC Dog Attacks Send 5 to Hospitals

Police shot and killed a pit bull that had attacked several people in East Harlem

Two pit bull attacks in the city have sent five people to the hospital, including a 3-year-old girl with minor bites to the face, police said Saturday.

Police shot and killed a pit bull attacked several people Friday afternoon outside the Thomas Jefferson Houses in East Harlem, authorities said.

Residents of the public housing complex told NBC 4 New York that the dog bit four people, including a 9-year-old girl. They were all taken to a local hospital.

When police arrived, the dog turned on them and one officer shot and killed it.

"The dog was very aggressive, very aggressive," said Felicia Armstrong, who witnessed the shooting. "So the cops had to take the dog down."

The other attack occurred in Queens at about 1:30 p.m. Friday when a pit bull bit a 3-year-old girl who was walking with her mother on a sidewalk in the Elmhurst neighborhood.

The girl was rushed to a hospital with what police said where minor injuries to her cheek, nose and left ear.

The dog and its owner left the area before police arrived.

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