By Eric Heinz

An off-duty Orange County Sheriff’s Department deputy shot and killed his neighbor’s pit bull Sunday evening in the area of Avenida Merida and Camino Vera Cruz in San Clemente after the dog bit his 12-year-old son and continued to be aggressive toward his family, according to OCSD officials.

The dog belonged to a California Highway Patrol officer who lives near the deputy.

“An off-duty OCSD deputy was with his family in front of his residence getting ready to go on a bike ride. His 12-year-old son was not on a bike but on a driveway, and at some point a neighbor’s pit bull owned by an off-duty CHP officer got loose and attacked the 12-year-old son,” OCSD public information officer Mark Stichter said. “The son sustained injuries with being consistent of being bitten. The dog continued to be aggressive and came toward the deputy’s younger daughter who was on his bike with him, and he shot the pit bull.”

The deputy used a firearm that belonged to him and not a weapon of OCSD. The dog was a privately owned pet of the CHP officer.

“It was a very cooperative scene; the highway patrol officer was very cooperative, and this was an incident that neither one of them wanted to happen,” Stichter said. “The animal control responded and transported the dog to a veterinarian, and eventually the dog was put down due to his condition. It was just a very unfortunate incident.”

OCSD is continuing to examine the situation. Per the department’s protocol, homicide investigators responded to the scene. No arrests were made in the incident and no criminal charges have been filed. The names of the officers involved were not released.