TEXARKANA, Texas -- Two people, including a police officer, are recovering after a dog attack Friday night on Wilson Street.
Officer Chris Flores underwent surgery late Friday after suffering serious injuries to both arms. The dog bites resulted in muscle damage on one arm and 23 lacerations on the other, said Shawn Vaughn, spokesman for the Texarkana Texas Police Department.
A doctor removed a small amount of exposed muscle in Flores' arm during surgery.
"It's to early to to be certain about any possible nerve damage, but there was not any obvious damage that he (the doctor) could see. He was admitted and is resting comfortably in his room," Vaughn said.
A woman who was attacked by the dogs before police arrived was also admitted and was listed in stable condition Saturday morning, Vaughn said.
"We're praying for a quick and complete recovery for both of them," Vaughn said,
Police were called to the 700 block of Wilson Street late Friday about dogs that had attacked a woman. When Flores got out of his car and started walking toward the house, two large pit bull mix dogs charged him, Vaughn said.
Flores was able to hit one with his flashlight but was quickly overwhelmed by their attack. The dogs knocked Flores to the ground and continued to maul him until Officer Matthew Lindsey arrived shorty afterwards.
Lindsey was afraid that he couldn't shoot the dogs without hitting Flores but was able to get them to stop the attack by spraying them with his fire extinguisher, Vaughn said. Realizing that Flores' wounds were serious, Officer Jose Chavez quickly loaded him into a patrol unit and immediately took him to the hospital.
Officers later had to shoot one of the dogs when it charged an animal control officer who came to catch them. The shot did not kill the dog but disabled it enough that officers were able catch it. The second dog was captured without incident, Vaughn said.