CHICAGO (WBBM) — Police shot a pit bulldog to death Wednesday evening after it attacked a real estate agent in front of his West Ridge home.

50-year old John Murray says he was in his lawn fixing his sprinkler when a 65 pound pitbull came charging at him.

WBBM”s Lisa Fielding talked with him about the ordeal.

“It came around from the side and the first thing I knew, something had me by the arm. The dog came out of nowhere.”

LISTEN: Newsradio 780′s Lisa Fielding Reports

A neighbor helped scare away the dog and Murray was able to get inside his house, where he called 911.

A police officer responding to the call spotted the pit bull about a half a block away, and when it began acting again in a menacing mood, the officer opened fire.

“When I went back into the house, I heard 6 gunshots and learned that the dog had died,” said Murray.

Neighbors said that the officer emptied his clip before killing the dog.

Murray says the animal had a collar and tags but has no idea why the it was roaming free or why it attacked him.

“There was another dog with the pitbull that was barking. I had seen that dog before but never saw the pitbull before. I never even made eye contact with the animal when it bit me.”

Murray says he was sad to hear the dog had to be shot but knows the situation could’ve been a whole lot worse.

“I’ve since found out it was a family dog, a family pet and they’ve got kids but a dog like that ya know is dangerous. If it hadn’t been me, if it had been a child or someone else I mean that dog could’ve killed somebody. That dog could’ve killed me if he wanted to,” said Murray.

Murray was taken to St. Francis Hospital, in Evanston, for treatment. He says he suffered puncture wounds to his arm and thigh but didn’t need stitches.

“Nothing like this has ever happened to me and certainly nothing you’d expect to happen in this neighborhood.”

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