Dog behavior has a lot of variables and one cannot label one breed as unusually vicious. Early puppy training is vital. I have a 6 year old yellow lab who is a a wonderful and cooperative dog with the immediate family but is an ultra protective, vicious dog to anyone with whom she is not familiar. We live on a farm and she is not allowed to roam on her own, so she is not a danger and is quite useful, as in our small community, we are the people with the crazy mean dog.
Our vet has worked with us to try and solve this issue. She thinks it is because we acquired her from a local reputable breeder at an older puppy age of 12 weeks. The vet thinks that because our dog was from a breeder and was an older puppy she missed out on vital socialization, staying at the breeder too long. Before this lab, we had two black labs who were litter mates. They were 12 weeks when we got them. They were the sweetest dogs and loved nearly everybody. They could be trusted with nearly anyone and were kind and friendly dogs all their lives. The difference was that they were not from a traditional breeder, but from a close relative who raised them in their house with constant human interaction.
When we first moved to our farm the people who sold it to us had a Doberman Pincher that they were going to have put down. We took her in and she was a fabulous dog. At the time Dobies had a terrible reputation. She was just a lovely dog and incredibly smart. When we were having our first child, everyone wanted us to get rid of her because she would be a "danger" to the baby. We ignored everyone. She was the best baby watch dog. When the baby cried in her crib, the dog would come and get me and if I did not move fast enough, she would nudge my arm forcefully with her nose and then run back to check on the baby and then run back to me over and over until I got to the baby.
My point is dogs are variable, training and proper socialization are vital to proper dog behavior. Any type dog can be vicious if humans fail them in training and proper socialization. Our lovely lab was failed by her humans at the breeder and by us. We needed to do far more intensive socialization because we got her so late. This was ignorance on our part, not intentional, but it is our responsibility now to keep other people safe from her and keep her safe, as well. We take our responsibility very seriously.
The pit bull breeds are being abused by creepy scum for nefarious purposes just like Dobies and Rotties in the past. At some point these creeps will move on to a new dog breed to victimize. I recognize the problem , but I do not have a good solution. I think much stricter limits and regulation on dog breeders might be a good answer. Proper restrictions on puppy mills, especially the Amish ones, would be a good start.
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