© Denise Henhoeffer/Courier-PostOn Sunday, April 17, 2011, Terrell Aycox, 13, Hydir Moore, 11, and Keayrah Johnson, 10, watch Tyreek Jones, 11, sign a memorial for Kapone, an 8-month-old pit bull shot and killed by Camden Police Friday night on Lemuil Avenue in Camden. Residents say 33 rounds were fired by police in the area, hitting not only the pit bull, but also homes and cars.
Camden - Neighbors are seeking an apology from Camden police after a Friday night incident in which they say a dog was shot by officers who were carelessly firing on a street crowded with children.
The dog was killed around 9 p.m. Friday after officers responded to calls of a fight between teenagers in the Baldwin Run neighborhood of the city's Rosedale section.
But neighbors are also concerned by what they said is an excessive use of force after bullet holes were found sprayed around the neighborhood. Shots went through through the walls and windows of a home four houses away and punched holes in several vehicles parked in nearby driveways.
Robert Corrales, spokesman for Mayor Dana Redd, said officers were trying to disperse a large crowd when an aggressive pit bull charged them.
No further information from police or city officials was available.
Sherronda Aycox describes her family's 8-month-old blue pit bull as an indoor house dog who was friendly with neighborhood children. The dog, Capone, was headed toward the crowd of children he saw on his daily walks.
"He was just trotting down the street and one officer pulled out his gun," Aycox said. She said another officer told the cop not to shoot the dog, but he shot the animal once in the paw and continued firing.
Neighbors said they counted 33 rounds of bullets based on the police investigation on Saturday.
© Denise Henhoeffer/Courier-PostMeasuring tape is seen next to a bullet hole and a window hanging that offers blessings for the home Sunday, April 17, 2011 in Camden. The tape is left over from the investigation into the Friday night Camden police shooting of a pit bull on Lemuel Avenue in Camden. Residents say 33 rounds were fired by police in the area, hitting not only the pit bull, but also homes and cars.
Her house is four houses down and across the street from where officers were shooting.
"It was horrible, there were so many sounds. I was trying to get the children rounded up and I felt like I couldn't cover them all," said Rodriguez, 54.
Meanwhile, her daughters Jennifer Rodriguez, 31, of Lindenwold, and Angie Rodriguez, 25, were outside pounding on the locked door after returning from the grocery store to buy drinks for the family's regular Friday night dinner.
© Denise Henhoeffer/Courier-Post
© Denise Henhoeffer/Courier-Post
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