Dog Walker Shoots Pit Bull

A Bradenton man walking his dog in his neighborhood shot a pit bull that he said broke free from a tree where the animal had been chained. He said that the pit bull attacked his dog.

The shooting occurred in the 5500 block of 16th Street West, sometime after 10:15 p.m. according to a Manatee County Sheriff's report.

Richard Rucker, 52, holds a legal permit to carry a gun, and had the weapon with him when he was walking his pet.

Rucker "drew his legally carried handgun, and shot one round at the pit bull, striking it," according to the report. Rucker told deputies that he believed the dog would attack him and was in fear for his life when he shot the dog.

The dog ran into woods nearby after he was shot. When deputies arrived they found the pit bull dying from the gun shot wound. Deputies euthanized the dog, according to the Sheriff's report.

Manatee County Animal Control was called out to the scene. Animal Services talked to the pit bull's owners and took the dog, according to Dave Bristow, a spokesman for the sheriff's office.