Police investigating pit bull attack on the subway in Lower Manhattan
LOWER MANHATTAN (WABC) -- Police are investigating a pit bull attack on the subway in Lower Manhattan after a dog latched onto a 22-year-old woman's shoe.
Eyewitnesses believe the people were the problem, not the pet. Now, authorities are looking for the dog's owner.
In a 60-second video, the pit bull can be seen latching onto a young woman's foot and refusing to release it until the sneaker came off. Then the owner is seen throwing the shoe at the other riders.
"You should've had your dog in a bag, kennel, muzzle," witness TahSyi Kyng said. "It wasn't a service dog."
It was around 4 p.m. Friday, and Kyng and his girlfriend were on the downtown 4 train to pick up their kids when a man entered the subway with his pit bull, Vinci.
"The dog sat on my foot, and I really didn't mind it much," Kyng said.
When room opened up across the aisle, Kyng said the man sat down and put his dog on the seat. As the dog lay down, Kyng said the pet bumped a female passenger on the other side.
"She was like, 'The dog don't belong on the seat, that's an animal, people belong on the seat, put the dog on the floor,'" Kyng said. "And he looked at her like, I'm not moving my (expletive) dog.'"
From there, it went downhill quickly. Kyng, who took the video, said the woman pushed the dog off the seat. The owner put him back up, and she shoved the dog off again. The owner responded with fists.
"He was like, 'Don't touch my dog,' and he started hitting," Kyng said. "They started fighting, and everybody tried to break it up. The dog latched onto her."
In the struggle to get the dog off, other passengers are heard yelling at the owner to have the dog release. The dog eventually let go, and the man threw the shoe.
As the train pulled into the Wall Street stop, the owner could be seen leaving with his pit bull. The conductor eventually came into the car to assist the female passenger.
"That dog was not vicious," eyewitness Denise Leon said. "It was just an incident that could have been avoided."
The MTA confirmed non-service animals must be inside containers when riding mass transit.
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