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Anne Arundel County Police Investigate Dog Shooting Case

SEVERN, Md. (WJZ) -- What started with a dog fight between pit bulls in Anne Arundel County ended with one of the dog owners shooting and killing his neighbor's dog to stop the fight.  Now Anne Arundel County Police are trying to determine if that man did anything wrong.

Derek Valcourt has more.

Two dogs, two owners and two totally different stories.

"I really miss my dog," said Bianca Moye.

Moye, 18, says Sunday morning, she was walking her family pit bull Kayne in their Severn community when her neighbor's unleashed pit bull ran up to them and started fighting her dog.  Scared, she dropped the leash.

"So the little boy ran and got his father and he came outside with a gun.  He didn't say anything to me," Moye said.  "They were about to break up the fight and as I was bending down to get my dog's leash, he shot my dog."

"This is the third situation we've had with this dog," said Tony Noriega.

Noriega admits he first grabbed the gun when his children came running inside the house to tell him about the dog fight, but his story is different from Moye's.

"I asked her again, `Please grab your dog.  Please grab your dog.  If you don't grab your effing dog, I'm going to have to shoot him.'  She didn't do anything yet again.   He again backed me up into a wall area and I had my kids blocked so my kids couldn't run anywhere.  At that time, I decided the only thing I could do was shoot the dog," Noriega said.

Police are trying to sort it all out, but so far they haven't taken any sides.

"It's important to point out it's still under investigation.  We're working closely with the state's attorney's office.  Right now, we're in the fact-finding stages.  Detectives are still gathering information," said Justin Mulcahy, Anne Arundel County Police.

"I feel I did the right thing," Noriega said.  "It was the only option for me to do."

"I think it's bogus because my daughter is 18 years old.  She has no reason to lie," said Bianca's mother, Monica Moye.  "I'm going to push this to the fullest because I think what he done was wrong and to have a gun out in the open where kids are playing, that's ridiculous."

For now, Noriega's dog is being held by Animal Control while authorities decide what, if anything, to do about this case.

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