A pit bull was euthanized after being shot Wednesday by a man who was playing with his two young children when the dog nearly got into the yard.

City spokeswoman Diana Klink said the shooting, which happened about 6:30 p.m. in the 300 block of Collier Crescent, had been ruled justified.

Klink said two pit bulls had knocked a board loose in the homeowner’s fence and were fighting and attempting to gain entry to the yard where the homeowner was playing with his children. The man initially tried spraying the dogs with a hose, but they contained to act aggressively, Klink said.