HOLLYWOOD, Fla. (WSVN) -- A dog owner is mourning the loss of his pit bull after Police said they were forced to fire when the dog got loose.

A family said they were in fear of going outside when the prowling pit bull made them prisoners in their own home Friday night. Young Michael Carbo was so afraid of going outside he missed his martial arts class.

Carbo's mother said she stayed inside because she feared if she went out onto the patio, the dog might kill her and her two boys, so her husband called 911.

As one of the Hollywood police officers went to put a note on dog owner Alexander Mateo-Perez's door, neighbors said the pit bull scaled a 4-foot fence and lunged at a second officer, forcing them to fire. "I was in the backyard cutting the gra**c*at, and I hear 'bang, bang, bang, bang, bang,'" said neighbor Docke Arid.

Dawn Parisi said the dog looked ferocious. "He was foaming at the mouth," she said. "His eyes were really bright red. It was like he was protecting the house."

Arid said Mateo-Perez was distraught over the loss of his dog. "The owner was in tears," he said. "I guess they have another dog that was in heat, and I guess it was protecting the property."

While Arid wished the situation had a different outcome, Parisi said the two officers had no other option but to fire. "Once the dog stopped and came back after him and actually lunged at him, there was no other choice."

Carbo was a bit sad that the dog was killed but is grateful that he can go to class safely.

Mateo-Perez said he still doesn't know how the dog got out.