At least five people were bitten, police said, and the boy and officer were hospitalized.
The dogs` owner, Ivan Watts of 6220 S. Laflin St., was cited with allowing the dogs to run at large, with having vicious dogs and with failing to have city or rabies tags for the animals, police said.
A search for the pit bulls, which weighed 60 to 80 pounds, began near 63d Street and Seeley Avenue after police received reports that the dogs were loose, said Sgt. William Whelehan of the Englewood District.
When police found the dogs, in the 6400 block of Seeley Avenue, they were attacking the 12-year-old, Whelehan said. The officers chased the dogs away from the boy, but the animals turned on the police, forcing them to shoot.
The injured officer, Sgt. James Cole, shot one dog five times, but it still managed to bite him in the forearm. ``The dogs wouldn`t go down,``
Whelehan said. ``These dogs were 99 percent pit bulls.``
Police found the owner through the address on one of the dogs` tags, Whelehan said.
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