A Washington D.C. man who fatally shot a trio of pit bulls as they attacked a young boy could face charges for violating the District's gun laws.
An unnamed 11-year-old boy was riding his new bike in Washington D.C. on Sunday when he collided with a pack of unleashed and unattended pit bulls that began attacking him, The Washington Post reported Tuesday.
An unidentified neighbor saw the mauling and used his handgun to shoot one of the dogs. A D.C. police officer who heard the gun shots fatally shot the other two dogs.
Since the neighbor technically fired his gun on a D.C. street, and not on his personal property, he could face up to a year in prison and a $1,000 fine, DCist reported Wednesday.
However D.C. defense lawyer David Benowitz told the Post it could be difficult to prosecute the neighbor since the shooting happened so close to his property line.
Metropolitan Police Department spokeswoman Gwendolyn Crump told DCist the department is still investigating whether the neighbor could be charged.
The dog owner was cited for failing to leash his dogs and with "menacing people." The charges carry a total of $175 in fines.
The District boasts strict gun laws and bans semiautomatic rifles and large-capacity magazines, Townhall.com reported in 2011.
The laws are so strict Washington police investigated NBC's David Gregory late last year after the newsman held up a 30-round gun magazine on Meet the Press.
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