Attack in Dornbirn

Bitten down: Police officer shot at sheepdog

Symbolic image

(Bild: Vier Pfoten/Vivian Tan)

When a police officer was called to a neighborhood dispute in a residential building in Dornbirn (Vorarlberg) on Sunday evening, a German shepherd attacked the officer. The animal bit into the officer's thigh, so the only thing left to do was to reach for a weapon.

A police officer was seriously injured during an operation in a Dornbirn apartment at around 7 p.m. on Sunday: During the official act, a German shepherd was kept in an adjacent room. Suddenly, however, the animal opened the door and immediately attacked one of the two officers. The shepherd bit the police officer's thigh with enormous aggression. 

The dog owners did not make a single attempt to call the animal back or to restrain it in any other way. The second officer therefore reached for his service weapon and fired two shots at the German shepherd, which finally collapsed dead. The police officer saw this as the only way to prevent even more serious injuries to his colleague. 

Charges against dog owners
The two dog owners are now under investigation. Despite repeated requests to restrain or withdraw the dog, they failed to act. After receiving first aid from his colleague at the scene, the injured police officer had to be treated in hospital. After receiving outpatient treatment, the injured man was released from hospital a few hours later.