Man arrested after dog shot dead by armed police

The 33-year-old was arrested on an outstanding warrant for animal cruelty and is helping police with inquiries relating to the two pitbull-type dogs.

Residents had been left stunned as police descended on the street following reports the dogs were 'loose and acting aggressively'. The road was closed off and residents told to stay indoors.

One of the dogs was killed at the scene by a police marksman as cordons were set up to keep residents back yesterday evening.

The other dog was caught safely by specialist police dog handlers in a rear garden of one of the homes in Richmond Road.

Force incident manager, Chief Inspector Jack Hadley, said: "Two pit bull-type dogs were reported to police at 4pm yesterday as being on the loose and acting aggressively in Richmond Road. Specialists from West Midlands Police's Dog Unit attempted to secure the dogs but, due to their aggressive nature, they were unable to contain them.

"Richmond Road was secured by police officers as a firearms unit was called to the scene; one dog was shot and killed whilst another has been located in a rear garden and taken to our specialist dog unit. Further inquiries are continuing."

One end-of-terrace house near the junction with Bearwood Road was cordoned off by firearms officers for more than two hours. One of the residents, a woman in her 30s who did not wish to be named, said: "We thought we heard a shot but we stayed indoors as we didn't know what was happening, it was chaos for a while."

Another resident from nearby Merrivale Road, a 30-year-old man, said some residents eventually did emerge from their homes to see what was happening.

"There are young families around here," he said. "I was amazed when they said there were pit bulls on the loose."

The news caused concern from people on Twitter demanding to know why police had killed the dog. But the force replied: "Officers from dog unit tried to contain them but couldn't due to their aggressive behaviour."