Boston police targeted a “vicious dog” with gunfire and multiple Tasers Thursday morning outside the Boston Public Library main branch on Boylston Street near the Boston Marathon finish line after the animal tried to attack an officer, authorities said.
One officer fired a service weapon at the animal and several Taser rounds were also discharged at the dog by other officers after it ran from the scene and was captured near the intersection of Pearl and Franklin streets, according to an eyewitness, Officer Mark Marron, a department spokesman, and police transmissions recorded by Broadcastify.
“I noticed like a pit bull running around the corner and hobbling, of course, looking very anxious and foaming in the mouth. ... One police officer was running after the dog,” Ted Touloukian told the Globe near Pearl Street. “He was a very large person and he was running full speed behind the dog. He hit the dog once or twice with the Taser, and the dog kept going — almost like the Terminator.”
A third Taser shot knocked the dog to the ground. Then, the animal was grabbed by police and put in the rear seat of a cruiser, he said.
“The police behaved exceptionally well, in a very humane way,” Touloukian said.
The dog was not hit by gunfire, police said.
The incident began around 9:22 a.m. when police were dispatched to the library after someone reported that a woman was threatening staffers while accompanied by what police were told was a pit bull, according to transmissions.
“Upon arrival, officers encountered a vicious dog that attempted to attack the officer,” Sergeant Detective John Boyle said in a statement. “An officer discharged its firearm at the dog, not striking it. At this time, no injuries have been reported in connection with the firearm discharge.”
Boyle said the dog “was later located in the Boston Common/Downtown Crossing area, where officers successfully subdued and contained the animal using a Taser.”
Boyle said the dog was still alive but there was no further information on its condition.
A man working on finish line preparations told the Globe during an interview on Boylston Street that he saw and heard an officer arguing with two homeless people an older woman and man — outside the library.
“I continued to keep doing my job. I turned away,” he said. “And then I heard a gunshot. First, I thought somebody dropped something heavy. But then another one went off.”
At that point, he said, an officer came running toward him with his gun drawn saying, “Everybody back, everybody back,” according to the man who asked not to be identified by name because he was working in the area.
“It was like about two minutes later that we learned that it was a dog that caused the incident, [it] had lunged at a cop. … It looked like the cop acted accordingly,” he said.
The man described the animal as “jacked,” weighing an estimated 80 pounds. “It was very, very athletic,” he said. “He galloped right down the street. It didn’t even faze him.”
He added that when dog ran past him there was no sign of a gunshot wound. “When I saw the dog run by, it was leash-less. It had a Taser dart sticking out of its butt,” he said.
“No one was screaming, I don’t think so anyways. But there was definitely people running,” he said. “You could see the panic in their faces. … I saw people start to mosey along real quick.”
“Whoever it was, they did the right thing. … Everyone acted professionally as far as I’m concerned,” he said. “I was happy how the situation was handled. … No humans got hurt.”
According to transmissions, shortly after police arrived at the library, the situation escalated quickly, and one officer fired their handgun at the dog.
“Shots fired at the dog,” an officer told a dispatcher.
“Say that again?” a startled dispatcher responded. “Where were the shots fired?”
“At the library! At the library!” an on-scene officer shouted. “We have one Tase in.”
On scene officers were asked if anyone was hit by the gun fire.
“No one’s hit but we have a very aggressive pit bull here,” another officer reported. ”He’s off the leash and he is running down Boylston Street."
The dog was spotted near 22 Newbury St., near Arlington Street and then in the Public Garden followed by the Boston Common — where officers chased the animal on foot — and then toward Downtown Crossing until the pursuit ended at Pearl and Franklin streets, according to the transmissions.
The incident is under investigation, police said.
John R. Ellement can be reached at john.ellement@globe.com. Follow him @JREbosglobe. Sarah Mesdjian can be reached at sarah.mesdjian@globe.com. Follow her on X @sarahs_journal.