NEWTON FALLS — The owner of three dogs running loose in the village over the weekend has retrieved them, as police and the Trumbull County dog warden’s office investigate.

A woman was bitten by one dog, and other residents were cornered and approached aggressively by the dogs.

The pack had four dogs, but one was shot and killed by a police officer when it came toward him aggressively.

Police Chief Gene Fixler said the four dogs were reported running loose Sunday morning at the park off Quarry Street.

Several residents called police including a Church Street resident who pointed a garden hose at the dogs when they approached him, causing them to run off.

Fixler said a woman in her 20s walking near the intersection of River and East Broad streets was attacked and bitten by one of the dogs. She was treated by first responders.

“Had she been pushed to the ground, who knows what could have happened,” Fixler said.

A police officer was responding to the dog-bite victim when he got out of the cruiser to assist a man who had been cornered by the dogs, a police report states. That’s when a large gray Mastiff-type dog came from behind a guardrail at River and East Broad and charged the officer.

The officer from 4 feet away was able to shoot the dog.

Then, a second large brown dog — believed to be the dog that bit the woman — also began to charge the officer, and was believed to have been shot in the leg. It turned and ran toward the riverbank, Fixler said.

Fixler said the dog that was killed was a Cane Corso, which generally weigh around 100 pounds, and had previously been an abused rescue.

“The owner of the three remaining dogs has retrieved them, and they no longer are running at large,” Fixler said.

He said all four dogs belonged to the same owner who resides in Newton Township, whose name was not released because the incident remains under investigation.

The dead dog was turned over to the owner.

Fixler said he is not sure what all of the breeds involved are, but believes another one also may be a Cane Corso.

Officials are consulting with the prosecutor regarding charges.

Fixler said the dog warden will check to see if all the dogs are properly licensed and determine whether they are deemed vicious.

bcoupland@tribtoday.com