U.S. Mint police shoot dog after it attacked employee

SAN FRANCISCO -- U.S. Mint police shot a pit bull in the leg after the dog allegedly attacked a Mint employee and two other people outside the San Francisco coin factory this morning, a U.S. Mint spokesman said.

The dog apparently escaped from its home near the Mint at 155 Hermann St. and attacked an employee at the Mint as she was walking to work at about 6 a.m., U.S. Mint spokesman Tom Jurkowsky said.

The woman fended the dog off with her cane and screamed. A U.S. Mint police officer who was driving by heard her scream and stopped, Jurkowsky said.

The dog then attacked a homeless man and a jogger running by. Jurkowsky did not know if the two people were injured.

After that, the dog ran toward the officer, who felt threatened, drew his gun and fired. He hit the dog in the leg, Jurkowsky said.

The dog ran away after being shot and found its way home. San Francisco Animal Care and Control found the dog's owner and took control of the dog, Jurkowsky said.

San Francisco police and the U.S. Mint are conducting separate investigations into the shooting, Jurkowsky said. San Francisco police spokesman Officer Albie Esparza referred all questions about the incident to the U.S. Mint in Washington, D.C.