An XL Bully has been killed by armed police after going on a rampage and injuring four people in Battersea.
Shocking footage on social media shows four men fending off the ‘dangerously out of control’ dog, with one lad seen hitting it with a bike helmet while another tries to subdue the animal with a blanket.
Met Police officers were spotted racing to scene near Battersea Park Road at 10pm on Monday following reports that an XL Bully ‘was attacking people’ in the street.
Armed police officers later took the ‘difficult decision’ to shoot the due to the threat that it posed to the public.
Four men were later taken to hospital with non-life threatening injuries following the horrific attack.
A 22-year-old man and a 21-year-old woman have also been arrested on suspicion of being the owner/person in charge of a dog dangerously out of control and both remain in custody.
An XL Bully has been killed by armed police after going on a rampage and injuring four people in Battersea (Stock image)
A Met spokesman said: ‘Police were called to reports of a dog – described as an XL Bully – that was dangerously out of control and attacking people in the vicinity of Home Road, SW11.
‘Due to the threat posed to the public by the dog, armed officers attended. After assessing the situation, officers took the difficult decision to destroy the dog and it was shot.
‘Four men – all members of the public – were taken to hospital for treatment to injuries sustained during the dog attack. None of their injuries are life-threatening.
‘Officers subsequently arrested two people – a 22-year-old man and a 21-year-old woman – on suspicion of being the owner/person in charge of a dog dangerously out of control. Both remain in custody.
‘Enquiries continue to establish the circumstances of the incident. An examination of the dog will take place to establish its specific breed.
‘Anyone with information that could assist police is asked to call 101 or ‘X’ @MetCC and quote CAD7620/19Mar.’
It comes just weeks after another unmuzzled XL Bully launched an ‘unprovoked’ attack on a mother and her two children in Battersea park last month.
The dog attacked the women and her children, aged one and two, as they entered the playground at Latchmere Recreation Ground, south London on February 2.
The woman – who wished to remain anonymous – claims the unleashed XL Bully ‘launched itself on the pram’ carrying her one-year-old daughter, tipping it over and biting the child.