DETROIT – A little girl in Southwest Detroit was killed in a dog mauling on Monday.
Investigators say three pit bull dogs escaped from a yard off Central Avenue and Smart Street and attacked the 9-year-old girl in the alleyway. Two people nearby saw the attack and rushed to save the girl.
- The dogs have been captured by Animal Control.
- The owner of the dogs, a 33-year-old man, is in police custody.
"I saw three dogs on top of a little girl," said Edward Cruz. "So I had no hesitation but to run up there, pick up a brick and throw it at the dogs."
All of the dogs, including one that was shot, are being held and quarantined at Detroit Animal Control. The owner of the dogs, a 33-year-old man, is in police custody.
"The little girl had the side of her neck hanging off and she was not conscious," Deborah Golden said.
"He jumps over the fence and he's literally screaming, 'My baby, my baby,' crying, just crying," Cruz said of the girl's father.
"I tilted her head and had her dad hold the side of her neck and put a T-shirt on the side of her neck," Golden said.
An ambulance rushed the girl to a hospital where she was pronounced dead.
"It's hard for me not to cry," said Cpt. Russell Solano, of the Detroit Police Department. "It's tough, real tough. We're talking about a 9-year-old girl who was just out there playing, and now she's not here."