READING TOWNSHIP, Mich. - A sheriff's deputy bitten by a dog in southern Michigan killed the animal and then fatally shot the angry owner who confronted him with a knife, state police said Thursday.
The incident happened Wednesday night in Hillsdale County's Reading Township after the deputy responded to a call about a dog on the loose.
"When the deputy made contact at the residence of the dog, the deputy was immediately attacked by the dog and bit," state police said in a written statement. "The deputy fired shots at the dog, which resulted in killing the dog."
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The deputy also shot the dog's owner, Oscar Herrera, after he confronted the deputy with a knife, state police said.
The deputy, whose name wasn't released, was treated at a hospital for dog bites. State police detectives were assigned to investigate the shootings.
The Hillsdale Daily News reported that Herrera was arrested in March after a complaint about him firing shots into the woods near his home and yelling.
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