PHILADELPHIA --

Video: Pitbulls Attack People In Southwest Philadelphia | Slideshow: Pit Bulls Put Down After Attack

Pit bulls on the loose went on a rampage Thursday and terrorized a southwest Philadelphia neighborhood. The dogs escaped from their backyard at 53rd Street and Cedar Avenue and ran several blocks through the neighborhood, attacking several people. Their rampage ended with a policeman shooting one of the dogs.

One man told NBC 10 News that he tried to stop the dogs from harassing a woman and her son.

"She was like, 'Get your damn dogs.' I was like, 'They're not my dogs, I'm trying to help you,'" the man said.

Then the dogs attacked Ralph Pickens. "It was like a lion or a tiger or something and it wouldn't stop," Pickens said.

Pickens' wife, Shirley, tried to help him fight off the dogs. "My wife threw the bat down the steps and I conked it in the head," Pickens said.

Pickens' hands are now heavily bandaged from the attack. A 67-year-old man also suffered injuries to his hands.

A police officer tried to scare the dogs with his cruiser's sirens, but the dogs did not move. When one of the dogs lunged at the officer, he shot it.

"They did back up, but then they started coming at him, so the officer had no choice but to fire his weapon upon the dogs," said Sgt. Charlie Marsden, of the Philadelphia Police Department.

The owner of the dogs said she had no idea how the dogs got out her yard. Animal Control took the dogs into custody. They were euthanized with the permission of the owner.