SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — A dog was euthanized after being shot at several times by a police officer it had bitten early Sunday morning, according to police.

The Salt Lake City Police Department said several officers responded to a convenience store on North Temple Street just past 3 a.m. on Sunday, after receiving reports from an employee that people were trespassing. Two officers initially responded and encountered “a large group in the parking lot,” police said.

“When an officer approached the group, a dog on leash began barking at the officer and then quickly lunged at the officer, biting him,” SLCPD said in a press release. “Although the dog had a leash attached to its collar, no one was holding the leash, allowing the dog to move freely.”

After the officer was bitten, body camera footage released by police shows the officer drawing his gun and pointing it at the dog, telling the owner, “Get your f—ing dog or I’m going to shoot it.”

The officer who was bitten then called for backup. Police said preliminary investigation indicates the owner of the dog let another person hold it after it bit the officer, and that person reportedly walked through the parking lot with the dog.

The other person — referred to by police as the “handler” of the dog — was not able to keep hold of the dog when another officer was approaching it to detain the animal. The dog was able to break free and run toward the officer.

Bodycam footage from the scene recorded verbal commands from both officers to get control of the dog, but after the dog charged at the second officer, the officer who was originally bitten and injured fired four shots. Police did not disclose how many times the dog was hit.

The dog’s owner ran toward the dog after it had been shot, and bodycam footage shows her being knocked down and restrained. SLCPD said officers “temporarily detained her for safety and the preservation of evidence.”

Police said the dog was critically injured and was later euthanized by Salt Lake County Animal Services. The dog’s owner was reportedly given the “opportunity for a private moment to be with her dog” after evidence was collected at the scene.

“I understand how people deeply care for their animals, and I recognize the pain this dog’s owner and those who knew this dog are experiencing,” SLCPD Police Chief Brian Redd said. “At the same time, our officers were faced with a dangerous and rapidly evolving situation. The officers were forced to make a difficult, split-second decision to protect themselves.”

The officer who was bitten by the dog was determined to have non-life-threatening injuries after being evaluated at the hospital.

In a Sunday press release, SLCPD said the area of the incident “has experienced recurring public safety challenges.” No arrests were made, but the people who were reportedly trespassing were given verbal warnings.

ABC4.com is not sharing the unedited footage due to the graphic nature and language contained in the footage. The footage below has been edited to remove expletives and to blur out the dog after it was shot: